The Transformation Of Governance In Rural China

Explores the economic, social and financial changes that have transformed China's rural governance over the past twenty years.

The rapid marketization of rural labor, agricultural products, and land has dramatically reshaped village life and its structures of governance. This volume, edited by Alexander F. Day, collects twelve key essays translated from Chinese on this transformation of rural society and governance over the past 20 years. These essays, originally published in the leading Chinese-language journal Open Times (开放时代), cover class differentiation, the atomization of rural society, the hollowing out of rural governance, land transfer, rural activism against marketization, lineage politics, the role of agricultural cooperatives, the transformation of small peasant farmers into wage labor, and the disintegration and expansion of peasant petitioning, all exploring the transformation in rural China during the post-socialist era.

This book seeks to unravel the changes in rural governance sparked by state-led programs, evaluate the programs’ implementation, and refine the interpretation of governance theory with new empirical material from rural China. When it comes to rural issues in contemporary China, there is no shortage of national strategies: from “Coordinating Urban–Rural Development” in 2003 to “Rural Revitalization” in 2017, the rejuvenation of the countryside has attracted unprecedented policy interest. At the same time, rural governance has been subject to significant political, social and economic changes. However, comparatively little research has been conducted on the phenomenal reconnection between the state and rural society, and our previous understanding of rural governance is no longer adequate. As a result of the programs, a new model of governance is now emerging in rural China. The programs have accelerated the formation of state-private-farmer partnerships, while also promoting the participation of grassroots society in rural reconstruction. In the initial stage, the state’s role is important to securing non-governmental sectors’ engagement. However, this does not mean that the model guarantees sustainable governance: in terms of land tenure reform, infrastructure investment, and subsidies, the programs merely empower farmers and other stakeholders to engage in rural reconstruction. The success of these reconstruction efforts ultimately depends on a suitable pricing mechanism for public goods provision, as well as the self-organization of grassroots society.

During the past quarter century Jonathan Unger has interviewed farmers and rural officials from various parts of China in order to track the extraordinary changes that have swept the countryside from the Maoist era through the Deng era to the present day. A leading specialist on rural China, Professor Unger presents a vivid picture of life in rural areas during the Maoist revolution, and then after the post-Mao disbandment of the collectives. This is a story of unexpected continuities amidst enormous change. Unger describes how rural administrations retain Mao-era characteristics - despite the major shifts that have occurred in the economic and social hierarchies of villages as collectivization and "class struggle" gave way to the slogan "to get rich is glorious." A chapter explores the private entrepreneurship that has blossomed in the prosperous parts of the countryside. Another focuses on the tensions and exploitation that have arisen as vast numbers of migrant laborers from poor districts have poured into richer ones. Another, based on five months of travel by jeep into impoverished villages in the interior, describes the dilemmas of under-development still faced by many tens of millions of farmers, and the ways in which government policies have inadvertently hurt their livelihoods.

This study focuses upon governance and social organisation within the Chinese village and explores the extent to which farmers have autonomy vis-à-vis their economic and political activities in an attempt to understand the relationship between farmers and the state in a rapidly changing China.

This volume is a selection of Chinese political scholar Xianglin Xu’s published works spanning nearly 20 years of research that explore and discuss the socio-economic transition in China under state political reform. Contextualized within the decades following the 80s, the author analyzes patterns observed from empirical studies, and breaks down the underlining reasoning, conditions and functionalities behind the incremental reform policies pushed forward by the Party and government. The collection is broken up into four sections: the first provides a general framework and theoretical / historical introduction to social transition research in the case of China; the second section discusses the underpinning logic behind political reform in China and practical concerns; the third section follows with discussions on reform policy practices within China including application and trajectory; the final section concludes with an analysis of reform within state institutional infrastructure and policy innovation.

Dynamics of Local Governance in China during the Reform takes a close look at China's current transformation and its broader implications. Through their thought-provoking essays, the contributors to this volume dissect China's transformation by examining various topics in the field of contemporary China studies, such as rural industrialization, development of civic society, socio-economic transformation and local self-governance.

This book is based on an empirical research on the governance and reform of the contemporary township system in China. It provides an insightful and innovative understanding of China's township system. The book consists of four parts. The first part discusses the historical changes, present situation and practical operation of China's township system. The second part compares several practice models of reform, and analyses the motivational forces, path and trend of the reform process. The third part studies the reconstruction of modern township governance system and other relevant institutional innovations. The fourth part focuses on the investigation and case analysis of the actual operation of the township system at multi-dimensional levels. Contents: China's Township System The Reform of China's Township System The Reconstruction of Modern Township Governance System Field Investigation Readership: Policy-makers, professionals, academics, undergraduates and graduate students interested in the governance and reform of China's township system. Keywords: Township System in China;Structural Reform;Governance in Rural ChinaReview: Key Features: Based on long-term research on the reform of China's township system First-hand material based on a large number of investigations Original propositions on the reform of China's township system