Reinforcing the power of China’s Commission for Discipline Inspection

Reinforcing the power of China's Commission for Discipline InspectionInstitutional centralisation as practised by Xi Jinping requires a strong punishment mechanism capable of reinforcing the leader's personal authority and intimidating subordinates.Since 2016, Xi has established a number of new institutions that make up what he terms the 'great system of supervision and investigation' (大监督调查系统, GSSI).Although they go about their business in an orderly fashion that does not impede the normal workings of government, these institutions are designed to invoke fear. 1 In 2018, in an effort to enhance the authority and effectiveness of the new system of discipline inspection, branches of the party's National Supervisory Commission (国家监察委员会, NSC) were established within all governments at county level and above. 2 This represented the merging of party and government agencies responsible for discipline.3 The units that were merged into the NSC were the party's Commission for Discipline Inspection (纪律检查委员会, CDI); two government bodies, the 1 Xi Jinping has integrated many institutions and established similar all-embracing systems in various areas to strengthen his government's ability to implement and coordinate policies.For details, see Lampton, 'Xi Jinping and the National Security Commission'; Joel Wuthnow, 'China's New "Black Box": Problems and Prospects for the Central National Security Commission', The China Quarterly 232 (December 2017): 886-903, doi.org/10.1017/S0305741017001308.