Guanxi Networks in Labor Contention: Network Attribute, Strength and Outcomes

• In Event: Re-working Democracy: Defending Substantive Rights through Labor Struggle

Abstract

The importance of social networks that greatly facilitate the informal labor organization in China have been identified by scholars, yet how they affect the outcomes of labor protests has not been emphasized. The guanxi networks with particular Chinese characteristics, that distinct from common social networks in western literature, have seldom been acknowledged in existing labor studies. Through the examination of strike cases in the Pearl River Delta, this paper attempts to show how the guanxi networks give rise to the emergence and mobilization of migrant workers` protests. In addition, the guanxi networks have also been utilized by local governments to handle the protests, which prove to be efficient. The identification of guanxi networks in labor protests will show the uniqueness of Chinese workers in their way of organizing strategy and in turn, how the local governance benefits from this network.

Author

• Wei Chen, Nanjing University