Joseph Torigian is a Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution, an associate professor at the School of International Service at American University in Washington, and a Center Associate of the Lieberthal-Rogel Center for Chinese Studies at the University of Michigan. His first book, “Prestige, Manipulation, and Coercion: Elite Power Struggles in the Soviet Union and China after Stalin and Mao” was released with Yale University Press, and “The Party’s Interests Come First: The Life of Xi Zhongxun, Father of Xi Jinping” was published by Stanford University Press in 2025.
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Episode 423
Joseph Torigian
The Party Comes First: Power & Politics in Xi’s China | Joseph Torigian
Joseph Torigian is a Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution, an associate professor at the School of International Service at American University in Washington, and a Center Associate of the Lieberthal-Rogel Center for Chinese Studies at the University of Michigan. His first book, “Prestige, Manipulation, and Coercion: Elite Power Struggles in the Soviet Union and China after Stalin and Mao” was released with Yale University Press, and “The Party’s Interests Come First: The Life of Xi Zhongxun, Father of Xi Jinping” was published by Stanford University Press in 2025.
In Episode 423 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Joseph Torigian, an expert on the politics of authoritarian regimes and the Chinese Communist Party, with a particular focus on elite power struggles, civil-military relations, and grand strategy. Torigian is also the author of a widely discussed new book titled “The Party’s Interests Come First,” a political biography and historical analysis of Xi Zhongxun, the father of Xi Jinping, the leader of China and the head of the Chinese Communist Party.
In the first hour, Torigian and Kofinas trace the evolution, internal contradictions, and complex dynamics of political power and succession within the Chinese Communist Party, revealing the critical role that personal networks, ideological discipline, factional struggle, and narrative have played in shaping Chinese political history and culture. They explore several critical periods in Chinese communist party history, including Mao Zedong’s Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution, the period of reform and opening up under Deng Xiaoping, and the post-Tiananmen period following the 1989 crackdown.
In the second hour, Kofinas and Torigian focus on China’s current leader, Xi Jinping, examining the political lessons he has drawn from the struggles endured by his father while exploring how those experiences have shaped his party loyalties and reinforced his commitment to restoring China’s greatness and securing its position on the global stage.
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Joseph Torigian is a Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution, an associate professor at the School of International Service at American University in Washington, and a Center Associate of the Lieberthal-Rogel Center for Chinese Studies at the University of Michigan. His first book, “Prestige, Manipulation, and Coercion: Elite Power Struggles in the Soviet Union and China after Stalin and Mao” was released with Yale University Press, and “The Party’s Interests Come First: The Life of Xi Zhongxun, Father of Xi Jinping” was published by Stanford University Press in 2025.
Demetri Kofinas is a media entrepreneur and financial analyst whose mission is to help uncover the hidden forces and pivotal patterns shaping our lives. His contrarian perspective and critical-thinking approach has helped hundreds of thousands of people make smarter, informed decisions. This same methodology has helped guide Demetri’s decision-making as an early-stage investor and as a creator of several innovative media properties and live events.
Demetri Kofinas is a media entrepreneur and financial analyst whose mission is to help uncover the hidden forces and pivotal patterns shaping our lives. His contrarian perspective and critical-thinking approach has helped hundreds of thousands of people make smarter, informed decisions. This same methodology has helped guide Demetri’s decision-making as an early-stage investor and as a creator of several innovative media properties and live events.
Demetri Kofinas is a media entrepreneur and financial analyst whose mission is to help uncover the hidden forces and pivotal patterns shaping our lives. His contrarian perspective and critical-thinking approach has helped hundreds of thousands of people make smarter, informed decisions. This same methodology has helped guide Demetri’s decision-making as an early-stage investor and as a creator of several innovative media properties and live events.
Demetri Kofinas is a media entrepreneur and financial analyst whose mission is to help uncover the hidden forces and pivotal patterns shaping our lives. His contrarian perspective and critical-thinking approach has helped hundreds of thousands of people make smarter, informed decisions. This same methodology has helped guide Demetri’s decision-making as an early-stage investor and as a creator of several innovative media properties and live events.
Demetri Kofinas is a media entrepreneur and financial analyst whose mission is to help uncover the hidden forces and pivotal patterns shaping our lives. His contrarian perspective and critical-thinking approach has helped hundreds of thousands of people make smarter, informed decisions. This same methodology has helped guide Demetri’s decision-making as an early-stage investor and as a creator of several innovative media properties and live events.
