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 language | English |
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Place of Publication | Stanford, California |
Publisher | Stanford University Press |
Number of pages | 216 |
Volume | 1 |
Edition | 1st |
ISBN (Print) | 9780804789363 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2014 |