Commentary China remains closed off, but a careful examination of history and available sources tells us a great deal. Communist regimes remain secretive about their behavior, which requires analysts to glean insights and clues based on the little bit of public information available. This skill is called Kremlinology. It was developed by scholars who had to use small and subtle clues to assess the Soviet Union, and generally refers to any study of a closed, communist regime. With China’s upcoming 20th Communist Party Congress, the analysis has focused on Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign. Most Kremlinology offers many details and terms that most readers would be unfamiliar with. But the average reader can still understand pertinent points by studying history and remembering some basic points. The first point is to try and connect small facts to larger trends in history. While the details are often different, human beings are incredibly similar and the …