---
title: "Flies and Tigers Campaign — AP Comp Gov Definition"
description: "Xi Jinping's anti-corruption drive that punishes both top officials (tigers) and low-level ones (flies), boosting legitimacy while sidelining rivals in China."
canonical: "https://fiveable.me/ap-comp-gov/key-terms/flies-and-tigers-campaign"
type: "key-term"
subject: "AP Comparative Government"
unit: "Unit 1"
---

# Flies and Tigers Campaign — AP Comp Gov Definition

## Definition

The Flies and Tigers campaign is Xi Jinping's anti-corruption drive in China, launched in 2012, that targets both high-ranking officials ("tigers") and low-level bureaucrats ("flies"). In AP Comp Gov, it's the go-to example of a government using anti-corruption efforts to sustain legitimacy.

## What It Is

The Flies and Tigers campaign is the massive anti-corruption effort [Xi Jinping](/ap-comp-gov/key-terms/xi-jinping "fv-autolink") launched after taking power in [China](/ap-comp-gov/review-by-country/china/study-guide/K0v3iydFqTXwWWKj "fv-autolink") in 2012. The name comes from Xi's promise to punish corruption at every level. "Tigers" are powerful, high-ranking Communist Party officials, and "flies" are ordinary low-level bureaucrats. Hundreds of thousands of officials have been investigated, disciplined, or removed under the campaign.

Here's the part [AP Comp Gov](/ap-comp-gov "fv-autolink") actually cares about. The campaign works on two levels at once. Publicly, it tells Chinese citizens "the Party is cleaning house," which builds legitimacy, because reduced corruption reinforces a government's right to rule (LEG-1.B.2). Quietly, it also gives Xi a legal-sounding tool to remove political rivals and consolidate his own power. So the same campaign that looks like reform also functions as elite purging. That double nature is exactly why the term shows up in Topic 1.9, Sustaining Legitimacy.

## Why It Matters

This term lives in **[Unit 1](/ap-comp-gov/unit-1 "fv-autolink"): Political Systems, [Regimes](/ap-comp-gov/key-terms/regime "fv-autolink"), and Governments**, specifically Topic 1.9, and supports learning objective **AP Comp Gov 1.9.A**: explain how governments maintain legitimacy. The CED says reduced governmental corruption reinforces legitimacy (LEG-1.B.2) while rising corruption undermines it (LEG-1.B.3). The Flies and Tigers campaign is China's flagship example of acting on that logic. It's also a perfect case for a bigger Comp Gov theme. Authoritarian regimes don't rely only on coercion; they actively build public support. China can't point to free and fair elections as a source of legitimacy, so it leans on policy effectiveness, economic growth, and visible anti-corruption wins instead. If an exam question asks how a nondemocratic regime maintains legitimacy without elections, this campaign is one of your strongest China-specific examples.

## Connections

### [Governmental corruption (Unit 1)](/ap-comp-gov/key-terms/governmental-corruption)

The campaign is the action side of the CED's [corruption](/ap-comp-gov/key-terms/corruption "fv-autolink") logic. Corruption undermines legitimacy, so a regime that publicly punishes corrupt officials is converting a legitimacy threat into a legitimacy boost. Flies and Tigers is China's named example of that move.

### [Charismatic Leadership (Unit 1)](/ap-comp-gov/key-terms/charismatic-leadership)

The campaign helped build Xi Jinping's image as a strong, incorruptible leader. That feeds charismatic [legitimacy](/ap-comp-gov/unit-1/political-legitimacy/study-guide/2mLcWOkHFriuqlwRFqqy "fv-autolink") (LEG-1.B.1), where support attaches to the leader personally rather than to institutions, which is one reason Xi was able to remove presidential term limits in 2018.

### [Cooptation (Unit 1)](/ap-comp-gov/key-terms/cooptation)

These are two tools in the same [authoritarian](/ap-comp-gov/key-terms/authoritarian "fv-autolink") toolkit. Cooptation brings potential opponents inside the system with rewards, while Flies and Tigers removes those who can't be bought. Carrot and stick, working together to keep the Communist Party in control.

### [Economic Growth (Unit 1)](/ap-comp-gov/key-terms/economic-growth)

China's legitimacy formula pairs the two. Growth says "the Party delivers prosperity," and the anti-corruption campaign says "the Party governs cleanly." Both substitute for the electoral legitimacy China doesn't have, which matters more as growth slows.

## On the AP Exam

Expect this in multiple-choice stems about how authoritarian regimes maintain legitimacy, often asking you to identify why a regime would launch an anti-corruption campaign or what its dual purpose is (public legitimacy plus eliminating rivals). No released FRQ has used the term verbatim, but it's prime material for the Conceptual Analysis and Argument Essay FRQs whenever the prompt asks about sources of legitimacy in nondemocratic regimes. The key skill is going beyond "China fights corruption." You need to explain the mechanism: visible punishment of officials signals responsiveness, which sustains legitimacy without elections, while also concentrating power in Xi's hands. If you can state both halves, you're answering at the level the rubric rewards.

## Flies and Tigers campaign vs Rule of law reform

Don't describe Flies and Tigers as China establishing the rule of law. Rule of law means the law applies equally to everyone, including top leaders. This campaign is closer to rule BY law, where the state uses legal tools selectively. Investigations are run by the Party's own discipline commission, not independent courts, and Xi's allies are noticeably less likely to become "tigers" than his rivals. On the exam, calling it rule of law is the classic mistake.

## Key Takeaways

- The Flies and Tigers campaign is Xi Jinping's anti-corruption drive, launched in 2012, targeting both high-ranking officials (tigers) and low-level bureaucrats (flies).
- It maps to AP Comp Gov 1.9.A because reducing governmental corruption is a CED-listed way governments reinforce legitimacy (LEG-1.B.2).
- The campaign serves a dual purpose, building public legitimacy for the Communist Party while giving Xi a tool to remove political rivals and consolidate power.
- It shows how authoritarian regimes sustain legitimacy without free and fair elections, relying instead on policy effectiveness, economic performance, and visible anti-corruption action.
- Investigations run through the Party's own discipline machinery rather than independent courts, so the campaign reflects rule by law, not rule of law.
- On FRQs, the strongest answers explain the mechanism (punishing corruption signals responsiveness, which sustains legitimacy) rather than just naming the campaign.

## FAQs

### What is the Flies and Tigers campaign in AP Comp Gov?

It's Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign in China, started in 2012, that punishes both powerful officials (tigers) and minor bureaucrats (flies). In AP Comp Gov it's the key example of a government sustaining legitimacy by reducing corruption (Topic 1.9).

### Is the Flies and Tigers campaign actually about fighting corruption?

Partly yes, but not only. Hundreds of thousands of officials really have been disciplined, yet the campaign also conveniently removed Xi's political rivals while sparing his allies. The AP-level answer is that it's both genuine anti-corruption and a tool for consolidating power.

### What do 'tigers' and 'flies' mean in the campaign's name?

Tigers are high-ranking Communist Party and government officials, and flies are low-level bureaucrats. The name signals that nobody is too powerful or too minor to be punished, which is what makes the campaign such an effective legitimacy message.

### How is the Flies and Tigers campaign different from rule of law?

Rule of law means laws apply equally to everyone through independent courts. Flies and Tigers runs through the Party's own discipline commission and is applied selectively, so it's better described as rule by law, where the state uses legal tools to serve its own goals.

### How does the Flies and Tigers campaign relate to legitimacy on the AP exam?

The CED says reduced corruption reinforces legitimacy (LEG-1.B.2) and rising corruption undermines it (LEG-1.B.3). The campaign is China's real-world application of that idea, and it's a strong example for FRQs about how nondemocratic regimes maintain legitimacy without elections.

## Related Study Guides

- [1.9 Sustaining Legitimacy ](/ap-comp-gov/unit-1/sustaining-legitimacy/study-guide/2dQWCDfh2V0lSiQEBhBc)

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