Responsive Authoritarianism in China
Land, Protests, and Policy Making

Challenging the notion of China as merely a repressive dictatorship, Heurlin shows that policymaking has been surprisingly responsive to protests.

Christopher Heurlin (Author)

9781107131132, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 27 October 2016

244 pages, 6 b/w illus. 6 tables
23.6 x 16 x 2.2 cm, 0.51 kg

'The surge of land-related popular protests in China has caught extensive attention in recent years, but it is notoriously difficult to establish causal connections between social protests and policy outcomes. In this book Christopher Heurlin systematically examines the policy making processes triggered by petitions or protests, and offers one of the most illuminating studies on authoritarian responsiveness in China.' Xi Chen, Chinese University of Hong Kong

How can protests influence policymaking in a repressive dictatorship? Responsive Authoritarianism in China sheds light on this important question through case studies of land takings and demolitions - two of the most explosive issues in contemporary China. In the early 2000s, landless farmers and evictees unleashed waves of disruptive protests. Surprisingly, the Chinese government responded by adopting wide-ranging policy changes that addressed many of the protesters' grievances. Heurlin traces policy changes from local protests in the provinces to the halls of the National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing. In doing so, he highlights the interplay between local protests, state institutions, and elite politics. He shows that the much-maligned petitioning system actually plays an important role in elevating protesters' concerns to the policymaking agenda. Delving deep into the policymaking process, the book illustrates how the State Council and NPC have become battlegrounds for conflicts between ministries and local governments over state policies.

1. Protest and policy outcomes under authoritarianism
2. Land takings, demolitions, and a rising wave of protest signals
3. Disruptive tactics and buying stability in local government responsiveness
4. Social stability and the petitioning system's role in agenda setting
5. Protest and the political mediation approach in provincial policy making
6. The state council and the National People's Congress as veto players in the policy outcomes of protests
7. Conclusion
Appendix 1. The LexisNexis data set
Appendix 2. The Zhejiang landless farmer survey
Appendix 3. Descriptive data on provincial adoption of social security policies.

Subject Areas: Political subversion [JPWJ], Demonstrations & protest movements [JPWF], Pressure groups & lobbying [JPWD], Land rights [JPVH3], Political control & freedoms [JPV], Regional government [JPR], Central government [JPQ], Political structures: totalitarianism & dictatorship [JPHX]