The new dual state : judicial autonomy and political control in China / Yueduan Wang

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Wang, Yueduan, 1987- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Judicial independence--China.

Judicial independence.

Judicial power--China.

Judicial power.

Judicial process--China.

Judicial process.

Justice, Administration of--China.

Justice, Administration of.

Courts--China.

Courts.

Authoritarianism--China.

Authoritarianism.

China.

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2026

Summary:

"'The New Dual State' examines how regimes can institutionalize judicial autonomy without relinquishing ultimate political control. Revising the dual state theory beyond its classical and contemporary formulations, the book proposes the framework of symbiotic dualism, which argues that the consolidation of political authority can clarify and stabilize the boundary between legal order and extralegal authority, thereby producing a more autonomous judiciary in routine adjudication. Using China as the central case, the book shows how political centralization enabled the regime to insulate judges from local officials, suppress unsanctioned extrajudicial interventions, and channel politically sensitive disputes away from the courts. These measures have produced a legal order in which courts demonstrate increasing professionalism and autonomy in routine cases, while the regime retains decisive authority over politically salient matters. Grounded in extensive fieldwork and framed by comparative legal theory, the book advances a generalizable framework for understanding legality outside the context of liberal democracies"-- Cambridge Core

Contents:

Autonomy in duality

The Chinese case

Insulating the judges : judicial centralization and accountability reforms

“Rule of law is the new political line” : party campaigns against extrajudicial intervention

Institutionalizing exception : formalizing political control over the courts

Taming legal mavericks : containment and co-optation of court-based resistance

From courtroom to neighborhood committee : diverting disputes from legal channels

The political logic of the new dual state

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index

Online resource; title from PDF title page (Cambridge Core, viewed July 30, 2026)

Other Format:

Print version: Wang, Yueduan, 1987- New dual state

ISBN:

9781009661652

1009661655

9781009661669

1009661663

OCLC:

1571459439

Publisher Number:

CIPO000404183

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license