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

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

Hardcover

United States Politics

ISBN10: 0804789363
ISBN13: 9780804789363
Publisher: Stanford Univ Pr
Published: May 14 2014
Pages: 216
Weight: 1.00
Height: 0.90 Width: 6.10 Depth: 9.10
Language: English

Power and Patronage examines the unwritten rules and inner workings of contemporary China's local politics and government. It exposes how these rules have helped to keep the one-Party state together during decades of tumultuous political, social, and economic change.

While many observers of Chinese politics have recognized the importance of informal institutions, this book explains how informal local groups actually operate, paying 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, Hillman shows that patronage politics actually help China's political system 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 open conflict. Understanding patronage networks is essential for understanding the resilience of the Chinese state through decades of change.

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United States Politics