Patronage and Power: Local State Networks and Party-State Resilience in Rural China

    Research output: Book/ReportBookpeer-review

    Abstract

    Drawing on more than a decade of fieldwork in a rural southwest China county, this book examines the unwritten rules of Chinese officialdom and suggests that these rules have helped to hold the one-Party state together during decades of tumultuous political, social, and economic change. While scholars have long recognized the importance of informal institutions in Chinese politics, this study goes behind the scenes to explain how informal institutions actually operate. The book pays special attention to the role of patronage networks in political decision making, political competition, and official corruption. While patronage networks are often seen as a parasite on the formal institutions of state, this book argues that patronage politics provides a supplementary set of rules that enables China's political system to function. In a system characterized by fragmented authority, personal power relations, and bureaucratic indiscipline, patronage networks play a critical role in facilitating policy coordination and bureaucratic bargaining. They also help to regulate political competition within the state, which reduces the potential for serious conflict. Understanding the role of patronage networks in Chinese politics is essential for understanding the resilience of the Chinese state through decades of change.
    Original languageEnglish
    Place of PublicationStanford, California
    PublisherStanford University Press
    Number of pages216
    Volume1
    Edition1st
    ISBN (Print)9780804789363
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2014

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