The Emergence of the Three Central Political Themes in the Legitimacy-Building of Chinese Revolutionary Politics, 1921–1923.

The key to building the legitimacy of a political system is to select political themes in a complex social environment that will maximize social support for that system. The principal characteristic of legitimacy-building in Chinese revolutionary politics from 1921 to 1923 was the emergence of three central political themes: class struggle, substantive democracy, and national revolution. Comprehensively using these themes to generate maximal resonance with society as well as controlling the tensions between them was critical for revolutionary politics to consolidate its legitimacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]