Chinese Politics Mini-Conference: State and Society in Contemporary China

Session Submission Type: Created Panel

Part of Mini-Conference

• Chinese Politics Mini-Conference

Session Description

This panel brings together five innovative papers that collectively advance our understanding of the intricate dynamics between the state and society within the Chinese context. Each paper offers a distinctive perspective, contributing to the evolving scholarly discourse on this important subject. In the midst of China's rapid social, political, and economic transformations, a nuanced understanding of the evolving dynamics between the state and society becomes imperative. This panel endeavors to address pivotal questions such as the impact of recent socio-political changes on state-society relations, the observable shifts over time in their interactions, and the identification of actors or phenomena that remain underexplored. By engaging with these inquiries, the panel aims to provide fresh insights into the complexities of governance and agency in contemporary China.

Contributing to this discourse, panelists pose unique questions. Two papers scrutinize how state institutions both shape and are shaped by state-society relations. Matt DeButts and Tongtong Zhang examine a decade of citizen complaints, documenting the nature and evolution of these claims over time. Hongshen Zhu and Viola Rothschild investigate how the geographical location of police stations influences citizens' political trust and engagement. They offer new insights into the understanding of state institutions as repressive and co-optative devices. Another set of papers explores informal, cultural, and social mechanisms impacting state-society relations. Lynette Ong delves into the role of 'social brokers' that rely on social and moral norms to elicit concessions from citizens. Dan Chen examines how urban stand-up comedy clubs have become new sites of popular expression and explores their broader implications. Finally, Wei Gu, Ning Liu, and Dongshu Liu explore the growth of the video game industry and its role in reducing economic actors' reliance on political connections.

The panel integrates diverse methodological approaches, including in-depth interviews, participant observation, large N analysis, survey experiments, and machine learning. These methodologies explore dynamic tensions within the contemporary Chinese context. We expect the panel to contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of state-society relations in China.

Sub Unit

• Division 13: Politics of Communist and Former Communist Countries

Individual Presentations

• Is Rights Consciousness Rising in China? Evidence from Ten Years of Complaints - Matt DeButts, Stanford University; Tongtong Zhang, American University

• Never Meet Your Heroes: Community Policing in Contemporary China - Hongshen Zhu, Lingnan University; Viola Rothschild

• The Secret Police Among Us: Diverging Instruments of Mass Repression in China and the Soviet Union - Lynette H. Ong, University of Toronto

• Popular Expression in Chinese Standup Comedy - Dan Chen, University of Richmond

• Internet Economy and the Reduction of Political Connection in China - Wei Gu, City University of Hong Kong; Ning Liu, City University of Hong Kong; Dongshu Liu, City University of Hong Kong

Chair

• Sungmin Rho Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies

Discussants

• Martin Dimitrov Tulane University

• Xian Huang Rutgers University