Social Protest and Contentious Authoritarianism in China

Xi Chen explores the dramatic rise in, and routinization of, social protests in China since the early 1990s.

Xi Chen (Author)

9781107429369, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 31 July 2014

256 pages, 6 b/w illus. 11 tables
22.8 x 15.2 x 1.6 cm, 0.41 kg

'Xi Chen's book is an important study of social protests in China and contributes to the general literature on contentious politics … It is a must-read for scholars and students of Chinese law and politics, as well as for those looking to better understand the enforcement of China's environmental law and policy.' Dali Yung, Journal of Chinese Political Science

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.

Part I. A Contentious Society: 1. Introduction
2. The surge in social protests from a historical 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.

Subject Areas: Comparative politics [JPB], Social & political philosophy [HPS], Asian history [HBJF]