Rural Democracy In China

Prepared by the East Asian Institute, NUS, which promotes research on East Asian developments particularly the political, economic and social development of contemporary China (including Hong Kong and Taiwan), this series of research reports is intended for policy makers and readers who want to keep abreast of the latest developments in China. Why does the Chinese government allow village elections and what implications do they have for the democratisation of China? By Tracing the history of village level governance reform, Shi, one of the premier authorities on electoral reforms in China, tackles these fundamental questions in this volume.

This book examines village democracy and the prospects of China's democratization. It explains how three key factors - township, economy and kinship - shape village democracy and account for rural variations. It considers the extension of village to township elections, the idea of a mixed regime and its impact on political development in China.

Unlike the election models in other Asian countries, rural elections in China were created from the grassroots level by farmers before they were officially and legally recognized by the government.As China is going through rapid urbanization and an increasing number of the rural population is moving to cities, village elections and power structures in the villages are also experiencing changes. By drawing on over 2,000 rural elections cases in China, this book analyzes the latest developments and deciphers their implications — not only for village elections, but also for China's democratization process. It also examines the interplay between state power and village elections: whether one grows at the expense of the other. Readers interested in China's rural elections will find this book a useful read.

Wang's book offers an empirically rich and conceptually nuanced analysis of how local state agents maintain control over village self-governance in China. His careful analysis of primary documents enables him to explicate the formal mechanisms used by members of the local state to influence village affairs. Meanwhile, his rigorous and fascinating ethnographic data enable him to elucidate the manifold ways in which informal clientelist ties between local state officials and village elites permit the former to exert control. Overall, this excellent book powerfully demonstrates the need for scholars to go beyond attention to election processes when evaluating what village democracy means in a Chinese context. It is a must-read for all serious scholars of Chinese politics and society. —Rachel Murphy, University of Oxford Guohui Wang's highly original, in-depth case research vividly reveals the dynamics of contemporary Chinese village politics. By combining abundant empirical data with close observation as an "insider," his book illustrates the processes and consequences of transplanting 'democracy' into rural Chinese society. Particularly for those in the West who are keen on understanding the ongoing transformation of rural China, this book is a rich and revealing source. —Shukai Zhao, Development Research Center of the State Council, P.R. China

China's dramatic economic growth in the last two decades of the last century and the prospect of its rise as a great power in this new one have greatly increased its weight and importance in world affairs. Consequently the progress, or lack of progress, of China's transition to democracy has become a central concern of the international community. This timely collection brings together many well-known scholars to systematically explore China's current government and assess that transition toward democracy. The contributors seek to bridge the gap between normative theories of democracy and empirical studies of China's political development by providing a comprehensive overview of China's domestic history, economy, and public political ideologies. Overall the volume contends that Chinese culture and Confucianism are not the obstacles to democratic transition that some scholars have said they are, and that the success of market reforms has eroded authoritarian rule. This weakening does not guarantee a successful transition, however, and the contributors show that there are many reasons to be skeptical about the short-term prospects for democracy in China, including historical failures, the underdevelopment of civil society, political apathy, and competing social values. Though China's political culture is essentially neither anti-democratic not pro-democratic, it must still overcome many obstacles in order to achieve democracy.

This new and timely book addresses a series of questions regarding one of the most important political developments in contemporary China: the state-led democratic practice of village self-government in rural areas. Why would an authoritarian state promote grassroots democratic reform? To what extent has this reform changed the local power structures, grassroots governance, and state-peasant relations? What would be the implications of this grassroots democratic reform for China's democratisation in the long run? This book examines the origins, process, and impact of this paradoxical political development and explores the dynamics of political change and mutually transforming relations between the state and society in Post-Mao China. It argues that the practice of village self-government was promoted by the Chinese party-state to cope with the dual crises of legitimacy and governability it had faced in the countryside after a decade of rural economic reforms.

Despite China’s rapid urbanisation and industrialisation, most Chinese still live in the vast countryside or have rural household registration. Although there was significant economic improvement in rural areas in the 1980s, the rural economy has been stagnating or deteriorating since then, and the book argues that the rural-urban income gap is giving rise to the potential for political instability throughout China. This book, based on extensive original research including interview fieldwork in rural areas, examines the nature of political culture and participation in rural China, discussing issues such as the support, or lack of it, for democratic values; levels of political interest; the ways in which Chinese peasants interact with village and local officials; subjective factors that motivate them to vote, (or not to vote) in village elections; and rural people’s views on market-oriented economic reforms, local and national government, and the Communist Party. The book argues that although hitherto peasants’ riots, sit-ins and demonstrations have been localised and uncoordinated, they are frequent, and have the potential to cause serious political crises for China’s rulers. It concludes by considering the future political development of China’s vast countryside.