Includes bibliographical references and index.

Contents: Acknowledgments - Introduction - 1. Prologue-The Death of Mao Zedong - 2. Hard Truths - 3. Storm - 4. Unhappy China - 5. Bombard the Headquarters - 6. Forgetting History Is a Betrayal - 7. Red Nation - Epilogue - Notes - Index

China's New Red Guards details two worrying trends in contemporary China that point to the revival of Maoism. First, an increasingly popular hard-edged form of nationalism that is reflexively anti-Western has taken root. The second is an unapologetic embrace of extreme authoritarianism that draws inspiration from the Maoist era. China's assertive stance in the South China Sea and anti-Japanese rhetoric represents the former, and the massive crackdown on liberal thought since Xi Jinping assumed the presidency represents the latter. The result is plain to see: a more authoritarian and more militaristic China. The book goes further than this, though, arguing that what we're seeing is a full-fledged Maoist revival. The book centers its story around a cast of nationalist intellectuals and activists who have helped unleash a wave of populist enthusiasm and nostalgia for the Great Helmsman's policies. That, combined with Xi's quick implementation of a range of authoritarian policies, suggests that the Maoist revival is neither epiphenomenal nor a passing fad. The ramifications, the book suggests, are clear: those in the West who have been predicting waves of democratization and liberalization are living in a dream world, blithely unaware of either the Communist Party's commitment to authoritarianism or the degree of its residual veneration for the CCP's founding leaders. In sum, this book demonstrates how ideologies can survive and prosper despite pervasive rumors of their demise.