Social protest and contentious authoritarianism in China / Xi Chen.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Chen, Xi, 1972 September 6- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Social conflict--China.

Social conflict.

Protest movements--China.

Protest movements.

China--Politics and government--1976-2002.

China.

China--Politics and government--2002-.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xiii, 241 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Other Title:

Social protest & contentious authoritarianism in China

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2012.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Xi Chen explores the question of why there has been a dramatic rise in and routinization of social protests in China since the early 1990s. Drawing on case studies, in-depth interviews and a unique data set of about 1,000 government records of collective petitions, this book examines how the political structure in Reform China has encouraged Chinese farmers, workers, pensioners, disabled people and demobilized soldiers to pursue their interests and claim their rights by staging collective protests. Chen suggests that routinized contentious bargaining between the government and ordinary people has remedied the weaknesses of the Chinese political system and contributed to the regime's resilience. Social Protest and Contentious Authoritarianism in China challenges the conventional wisdom that authoritarian regimes always repress popular collective protest and that popular collective action tends to destabilize authoritarian regimes.

Contents:

Part I.A Contentious Society: 1. Introduction

2. The surge in social protests from ahistorical perspective

Part II. Political Opportunity Structure: 3. Market reforms and state strategies

4. The Xifang system and political opportunity

Part III. Protest Strategies and Tactics: 5. Between defiance and obedience

6. "Troublemaking" tactics and their efficacy

Part IV. Conclusion: 7. Reflections and speculations.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-107-22998-7

1-139-21000-9

1-280-48533-7

9786613580313

1-139-22295-3

1-139-21815-8

1-139-21506-X

1-139-22467-0

1-139-22124-8

1-139-05331-0

OCLC:

794364298