Demonstrating the crucial importance of local governance in China’s development and international relations, this topical Handbook combines theoretical approaches with novel methodological tools to understand state-society relations at the local level. The Handbook assesses the formal mechanisms that organize territorial relations and scales of state to reconceptualize the local in China’s sociopolitical history. Addressing the complexity of local governance, it examines both the state and societal actors that are involved in how local policies are designed and implemented. Chapters review the emerging literature on Chinese bureaucracy, central-local relations, administrative hierarchies, functional division of power in local governments, and policy innovation. Looking towards the future of the neoliberal capitalist world order, the Handbook also considers economic governance at the local level in the evolving contexts of digitalization and green transformation, before tackling issues related to social governance including housing policies and public services. Interdisciplinary in scope, this comprehensive Handbook will be essential to students and scholars of Asian politics, policy, urban studies, and regulation and governance. It will also benefit policymakers across Asia working in governmental regulation and public administration and management.

By examining the changing political economy in China through detailed studies of the peasantry, workers, middle classes, and the dominant class, this volume reveals the Communist Party of China's (CCP's) impact on social change in China between 1978 and 2021. This book explores in depth the CCP's programme of reform and openness that had a dramatic impact on China's socio-economic trajectory following the death of Mao Zedong and the end of the Cultural Revolution. It also goes on to chart the acceptance of Market Socialism, highlighting the resulting emergence of a larger middle class, while also appreciating the profound consequences this created for workers and peasants. Additionally, this volume examines the development of the dominant class which remains a defining feature of China's political economy and the Party-state. Providing an in-depth analysis of class as understood by the CCP in conjunction with sociological interpretations of socio-economic and socio-political change, this study will be of interest to students and scholars of Chinese Politics, Chinese History, Asian Politics, and Asian studies.

Authored by a stellar line-up of top China scholars from the US, Europe, Australia and China. Interdisciplinary in approach, so will appeal to courses on Chinese society, politics and history. Writing style is excellent and the chapters are truly connected due to the bok being co-authored.

First published in 1989. This book considers two major aspect of China's economic reform: the 'open policy' towards the West, aimed at attracting technology and skills into the country and the emphasis on 'regionalization' which established market-orientated rather than bureaucratically-controlled patterns of economic development.

What an impressively successful venture! The authors are experts, who offer here authoritative, research-based, brand-new findings, excellent coverage of extant literature, new ideas and novel interpretations, analyses of controversies concerning their topics, and fascinating case studies. While specialists absolutely need to consult every chapter, its clarity and comprehensibility - plus its provision of definitions and distinctions - mean it is pitched such that even the totally uninitiated can absorb its information. Overall, a most superb collection, going well beyond what one would imagine a 'handbook' might hold.' - Dorothy J. Solinger, University of California, Irvine, USThe Handbook of the Politics of China is a comprehensive resource introducing readers to the very latest in research on Chinese politics. David Goodman provides an introduction to the key structures and issues, providing the foundations on which later learning can be built. Including a comprehensive bibliography, it is an ideal reference work for undergraduate and postgraduate students and academics. The Handbook contains four sections of new and original research, dealing with leadership and institutions, public policy, political economy and social change, and international relations. Each of the 26 chapters has been written by a leading internationally-established authority in the field and each reviews the literature on the topic, and presents the latest findings of research. Presenting the state of the art of the field, this reader-oriented Handbook is an essential primer for the study of China's politics. Contributors include: S. Breslin, K. Brown, A. Camarena, C. Cartier, M. Chen, J. A.Donaldson, J. Dosch, J. Duckett, B. Gill, D.S.G. Goodman, Y. Guo, W. Guohui, J.Y.J. Hsu, D. Hu, Y. Ji, K. Kojima, F. Li, L.C. Li, W.J. Morgan, B. Naughton, J.C. Oi, L.H. Ong, J. Reilly, S. Suzuki, F.C. Teiwes, G. Wang, Z. Wang, X.Yan, D.L.Yang, X. Zang, Y. Zheng

A general expectation has developed that China's middle class will generate not only social but also political change. This expectation often overlooks the reality that there is no single Chinese middle class with a common identity or will to action. This timely volume examines the behaviour and identity of the different elements of China's middle class entrepreneurs, managers, and professionals - in order to understand their centrality to the wider processes of social and political change in China. The expert contributors seek to identify the social space occupied by the Chinese middle class rather than identifying social backgrounds and attitudes. In so doing they explore socio-political issues, the development of a consumer society, relationships between gender and class in the workplace, home-ownership and the appearance of gated communities, and the political interaction between the Party-state and the entrepreneurial middle classes and their impact on the new institutional economics. Providing a more nuanced understanding of the structure of the middle class in China and identifying dynamic elements in their behaviour, this unique book will prove a fascinating and thought provoking read for academics, students and researchers with an interest in Asian studies and public policy. Contributors include: C. Cartier, M. Chen, L. Chunling, D.S.G. Goodman, H. Hendrischke, D. Jianzhong, Y. Jing, J. Liu, J.L. Rocca, B. Tang, J. Unger

This unique and fascinating book explores three decades of economic change in China and the consequent transformation of class relations and class-consciousness in villages and in the urban workplace. The expert contributors illustrate how the development of the urban economic environment has led to changes in the urban working class, through an exploration of the workplace experiences of rural migrant workers, and of the plight of the old working class in the state-owned sector. They address questions on the extent to which migrant workers have become a new working class, are absorbed into the old working class, or simply remain as migrant workers. Changes in class relations in villages in the urban periphery - where the urbanization drive and in-migration has lead to a new local politics of class differentiation - are also raised. Presenting new, original field research detailing social and socio-economic change in China, this book will prove invaluable to scholars, researchers and postgraduate students with an interest in Asian studies, public policy, regional and urban studies, political science or sociology. Contributors: J. Andreas, B. Carrillo, A. Chan, D.S.G Goodman, P.P. Leung, J. Linchuan Qiu, K. Siu, A.Y. So, L. Tomba, J. Unger, H. Wang

Authored by a stellar line-up of top China scholars from the US, Europe, Australia and China. Interdisciplinary in approach, so will appeal to courses on Chinese society, politics and history. Writing style is excellent and the chapters are truly connected due to the bok being co-authored.

By examining the changing political economy in China through detailed studies of the peasantry, workers, middle classes, and the dominant class, this volume reveals the Communist Party of China's (CCP's) impact on social change in China between 1978 and 2021. This book explores in depth the CCP's programme of reform and openness that had a dramatic impact on China's socio-economic trajectory following the death of Mao Zedong and the end of the Cultural Revolution. It also goes on to chart the acceptance of Market Socialism, highlighting the resulting emergence of a larger middle class, while also appreciating the profound consequences this created for workers and peasants. Additionally, this volume examines the development of the dominant class which remains a defining feature of China's political economy and the Party-state. Providing an in-depth analysis of class as understood by the CCP in conjunction with sociological interpretations of socio-economic and socio-political change, this study will be of interest to students and scholars of Chinese Politics, Chinese History, Asian Politics, and Asian studies.

During its fifty years of existence the People's Republic of China has seen dramatic changes, from the proclamation of the independent state through the period of the Communist Revolution, the Cultural Revolution, the Reform Period. These changes are analysed from the political, economic and social points of view, chllaenging accepted orthodoxy. Throughout, the emphasis is on change in the context of contemporary China, and as part of the Chinese Communist Party's search for paths to development.

State-society relations and governance are closely related areas of study and have become important topics in the social sciences in the past decades, not only in developed countries but also in the developing world. In China, state-society relations have been changing in the new era of reform and opening, and governance has become a central concern in policy practice and in academia. In this wide-ranging collection of essays, written by scholars from both inside and outside China, the contributors explore the complexity of the changing state-society relationship and the modes and practices of governance in China by combining theoretical exploration and empirical case studies.

This history provides the first book-length study and the first county-level analysis of social and political change in the Taihang Base Area during the key years of the War of Resistance to Japan, which was instrumental in the establishment of the People's Republic of China. David Goodman explores revolution as process, arguing that the Chinese Communist Party was successful because of its management of revolutionary incrementalism. In particular, he examines the roles and interactions of a variety of groups, highlighting the activities of urban intellectuals, teachers, and peasant small-holders as agents of change. Based on new sources of information-including materials from the Taihang Base Area recently republished by the CCP, documentation and reports from the Taiyuan Archive that have not been made publicly available, and interviews with veterans of the Taihang Base Area-this meticulously researched work deepens our understanding of the social and political origins of the Chinese revolution by considering how both the rural population and the CCP adapted and changed within that process.

Series Information:
Institute of Asian Affairs

This history provides the first book-length study and the first county-level analysis of social and political change in the Taihang Base Area during the key years of the War of Resistance to Japan, which was instrumental in the establishment of the PeopleOs Republic of China. David Goodman explores revolution as process, arguing that the Chinese Communist Party was successful because of its management of revolutionary incrementalism. In particular, he examines the roles and interactions of a variety of groups, highlighting the activities of urban intellectuals, teachers, and peasant small-holders as agents of change. Based on new sources of information_including materials from the Taihang Base Area recently republished by the CCP, documentation and reports from the Taiyuan Archive that have not been made publicly available, and interviews with veterans of the Taihang Base Area_this meticulously researched work deepens our understanding of the social and political origins of the Chinese revolution by considering how both the rural population and the CCP adapted and changed within that process.

Contents:
Introduction Gerald Segal and David Goodman 1. Financial Reform: The Incomplete Transition Michael Heller 2. Industrial Reform: Insights from the Electronic Sector Michael Hobday 3. Changing Defence Policies Tim Huxley 4. What Happened to 'Asian Values'? Anthony Milner 5. China: Incomplete Reforms Michael Yahuda 6. Japan: From Crisis to Drama Jean Pierre Lehmann 7. Regional Solutions to Regional Problems? Michael Leifer 8. A New Relationship Between the West and Pacific Asia? François Godement 9. Coping With Corruption and Cronyism Peter Searle Bibliography

Attempts to define the Asian Crisis and its future course continue to be hotly contested. Towards Recovery in Pacific Asia deals with financial and industrial reform, defence policies, the 'Asian-Values' debate, corruption and croneyism; as well as China, Japan and intra-regional affairs. Rather than trying to resolve the heated debate about the causes of the crisis, this book reflects on underlying trends to examine the possible paths of recovery. Bringing together experts in the field, Towards Recovery in Pacific Asia suggests that recovery is by no means impossible nor as difficult as might at first have seemed. But it requires political reform, tackling specific economic problems and the international support of the US, European Union and World Bank. There are still causes for concern, such as Indonesia's transition from the Suharto era and political reform in China and, most significantly, Japan. With its highly topical focus on the social, political and economic development of the Asia Pacific region, this book represents a vital, up-to-date analysis for students and researchers in Asian studies, International Relations, International Political Economy, as well as policy makers and professionals working in, or with, Pacific Asia.

First published in 1989. This book considers two major aspect of China's economic reform: the 'open policy' towards the West, aimed at attracting technology and skills into the country and the emphasis on 'regionalization' which established market-orientated rather than bureaucratically-controlled patterns of economic development.

China has experienced the world's fastest economic growth for over a decade. It is likely that within a generation, China will have the world's largest economy. Yet, at the moment when China looks set to regain its former power, serious questions have to be asked about the continuing integrity of China. The challenges posed by economic reform, succession politics, and new forces of political liberalism are compounded by boundary uncertainties, as China adopts a strategy of greater interdependence with the regional and global economy. This work analyzes the factors that might lead to and that might prevent the break-up of China. It provides key data about economic activity and external connections of the major regional forces. The analysis should interest those concerned with the prospects for China and the future stability of East Asia.

The new campaign to 'Open Up the West' that commenced operations in January 2000 is interesting not only because of its dramatic goal of developing the western and interior regions of the People's Republic of China but also because of the ways it has been articulated. Although presented in some ways as a major state project, it was introduced almost casually into the political process, with none of the usual fanfare and perhaps even more remarkably with no great commitment of state resources. Moreover, though it has been in progress for only a relatively short period it is already clear that uncertainties attend its aims, progress and potential impact. The contested nature of the campaign to Open Up the West becomes particularly apparent if, as is the case here, the topic is approached from provincial and local levels as well as from the national perspective. This book was first published in 2004.

According to common misconception the Chinese political system is highly centralized. One result of this widely accepted view is that China specialists have often neglected the study of decision-making as a process. Concentrating upon the neighbouring but contrasting provinces of Sichuan and Guizhou during the decade before the Cultural Revolution, this book examines the interaction between centre and province and, without adopting a 'centralist' or a 'pluralist' viewpoint, argues that a spatial dimension is of necessity part of the Chinese decision-making process. Particular attention is paid to the variability of this interaction over time.