Popular Politics and the Quest for Justice in Contemporary China

Popular Politics and the Quest for Justice in Contemporary China
Author: Susanne Brandtstädter
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 273
Release: 2017-06-14
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1315391929

The rise of popular politics is among one the most significant social and political developments the People’s Republic of China has witnessed in the post-Mao era. People from all walks of life have responded to rising inequalities and the privatization of collective goods with a new quest for justice. Although China has remained a censorial society under the authoritarian rule of the Chinese Communist Party, state-society relations are being remade by interventions of emergent publics through word and action. In this book, a group of anthropologists, specializing in Chinese society, examine various facets of popular politics, which are animated by the pursuit of justice, fairness and good government. The ethnographic chapters collectively analyse how ‘the political’ arises in particular judicial situations, provoking public judgements or other forms of critical engagement. Focusing on the interplay between private and public spaces, between morality and law and between speech and action, the contributors in this book explore how such engagements are changing Chinese society from the bottom-up. As the first systematic exploration of the relationship between popular politics, emergent publics and notions of justice in contemporary China, this book will be useful for students of Chinese Studies, Politics and Anthropology.

Popular Politics and the Quest for Justice in Contemporary China

Popular Politics and the Quest for Justice in Contemporary China
Author: Susanne Brandtstädter
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 179
Release: 2017-06-14
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1315391937

This book examines facets of popular politics that are, above all, animated by a quest for justice as law, fairness and public virtue. The aim is to better understand how "the political" emerges in the interstices of state law and local moralities. The contributors to the book focus on the interplay between private and public spaces, between morality and law, and between ‘front stage’ and ‘back stage,’ to explore how the common quest for justice, which takes on state slogans but cannot be absorbed by state institutions, changes Chinese society from the bottom-up by creating self-reflective new publics.

Protest with Chinese Characteristics

Protest with Chinese Characteristics
Author: Ho-fung Hung
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Total Pages: 284
Release: 2013-04-09
Genre: History
ISBN: 0231152035

The origin of political modernity has long been tied to the Western history of protest and revolution, the currents of which many believe sparked popular dissent worldwide. Reviewing nearly one thousand instances of protest in China from the eighteenth to the early-nineteenth centuries, Ho-fung Hung charts an evolution of Chinese dissent that stands apart from Western trends. Hung samples from mid-Qing petitions and humble plaints to the emperor. He revisits rallies, riots, market strikes, and other forms of contention rarely considered in previous studies. Drawing on new world history, which accommodates parallels and divergences between political-economic and cultural developments East and West, Hung shows how the centralization of political power and an expanding market, coupled with a persistent Confucianist orthodoxy, shaped protesters' strategies and appeals in Qing China. This unique form of mid-Qing protest combined a quest for justice and autonomy with a filial-loyal respect for the imperial center, and Hung's careful research ties this distinct characteristic to popular protest in China today. As Hung makes clear, the nature of these protests prove late imperial China was anything but a stagnant and tranquil empire before the West cracked it open. In fact, the origins of modern popular politics in China predate the 1911 Revolution. Hung's work ultimately establishes a framework others can use to compare popular protest among different cultural fabrics. His book fundamentally recasts the evolution of such acts worldwide.

Social Disciplining and Civilising Processes in China

Social Disciplining and Civilising Processes in China
Author: Thomas Heberer
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 177
Release: 2023-08-11
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1000924890

This book argues that a major part of the Chinese government’s road map, formulated in 2017, to modernise China comprehensively by 2049 is the process of social disciplining. It contends that the Chinese state sees that modernisation and modernity encompass not only economic and political–administrative change but are also related to the organisation of society in general and the disciplining of this society and its individuals to create people with “modernised” minds and behaviour; and that, moreover, the Chinese state is aspiring to a modernity with “Chinese characteristics”. The question of modernising by disciplining was extensively dealt with in the twentieth century by leading Western social scientists including Max Weber, Norbert Elias and Michel Foucault, who argued that disciplining, extending from external coercion towards the internalisation of restraints, is indispensable for achieving social order and thereby for “civilisation” –but defined from a European perspective, in relation to developments in Europe. This book therefore not only discusses the Chinese experience of social disciplining, but also, by looking at a non-Western society, identifies universal tendencies of societal change and social disciplining and separates them from particular occurrences.

China's Relations with Central and Eastern Europe

China's Relations with Central and Eastern Europe
Author: Weiqing Song
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 247
Release: 2017-10-04
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1351850741

As China rises as an economic and an international power, new relationships are being forged with all areas of the world including Central and Eastern Europe. This book explores how this relationship is developing. It considers how China’s links with Central and Eastern Europe fit in to China’s overall international relations strategies. It looks at economic and trade ties, diplomatic initiatives and the role of the European Union, and examines China’s bilateral relations with the different states of the region. These relationships are particularly interesting because before the end of communism in Eastern Europe China had many direct links with the countries of the region.

Political Values and Narratives of Resistance

Political Values and Narratives of Resistance
Author: Fiona Anciano
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 202
Release: 2021-03-23
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1000362140

This book brings together multidisciplinary perspectives to explore how political values and acts of resistance impact the delivery of social justice in post-colonial states. Everyday life in post-colonial states, such as South Africa and Zimbabwe, is characterized by injustices that have both a historical and contemporary nature. From fishers in Cape Town accused of poaching, to residents of Bulawayo demanding access to water, this book focuses on the relationship between the state and groups that have been historically oppressed due to being on the margins of the political, economic and social system. It draws on empirical research from 12 scholars looking at cases in Brazil, India, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Chapters explore questions such as what citizens, especially those from marginalized groups, want from the state. The book looks at the political values of citizens and how these are formed in the process of engaging with the state and through everyday injustices. It also asks why and how citizens resist the state, with examples of protest, as well as less visible forms of resistance reflecting complex histories and power relations. Finally, the book explores how narratives and counter-narratives reveal the nature of political values and perceptions of what is just. Taken together these elements show the evolution of post-colonial social contracts. Examining important themes in political science, anthropology, sociology and urban geography, this book will appeal to scholars and students interested in political values, justice, social movements and resistance.

Politics and the Histories of International Law

Politics and the Histories of International Law
Author:
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 513
Release: 2021-07-19
Genre: Law
ISBN: 9004461809

This book brings together 18 contributions by authors from different legal systems and backgrounds. They address the political implications of the writing of the history of legal issues ranging from slavery over the use of force and extraterritorial jurisdiction to Eurocentrism.

The Far Right Today

The Far Right Today
Author: Cas Mudde
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 132
Release: 2019-10-25
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 150953685X

The far right is back with a vengeance. After several decades at the political margins, far-right politics has again taken center stage. Three of the world’s largest democracies – Brazil, India, and the United States – now have a radical right leader, while far-right parties continue to increase their profile and support within Europe. In this timely book, leading global expert on political extremism Cas Mudde provides a concise overview of the fourth wave of postwar far-right politics, exploring its history, ideology, organization, causes, and consequences, as well as the responses available to civil society, party, and state actors to challenge its ideas and influence. What defines this current far-right renaissance, Mudde argues, is its mainstreaming and normalization within the contemporary political landscape. Challenging orthodox thinking on the relationship between conventional and far-right politics, Mudde offers a complex and insightful picture of one of the key political challenges of our time.

The SAGE Handbook of Contemporary China

The SAGE Handbook of Contemporary China
Author: Weiping Wu
Publisher: SAGE
Total Pages: 1356
Release: 2018-07-09
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1526455617

An exploration of the transformations of contemporary China, firmly grounded in both disciplinary and China-specific contexts.