Public Participation and State Building in China

This book explores non-electoral means of public participation in contemporaryChina, both as an outcome of and a key contributor to the party-state’sefforts to improve its governing capacity.Examining consultative meetings, public hearings, and the use of surveysand questionnaires in Zhejiang province, on an empirical level, the studyevaluates the historical development and institutional backgrounds of thesemechanisms, as well as provides a critical assessment of their achievementsand failures. At the same time, on a theoretical level, this book contributesto the broader scholarship on contemporary Chinese politics and politicaldevelopment within one-party regimes, as well as debates about state buildingand democratisation. Relying on the distinction between access to andexercise of power, it concludes that non-electoral public participation is infact a function of state building. Developing a state capable of producingeffective solutions to governing challenges, it is argued, requires public participationin the governing process.With analysis informed by interviews with local-level policy-makers andofficials, academics, and citizens’ representatives and activists, Public Participationand State Building in China will be a valuable research resource forstudents and scholars of Chinese politics, political science, and civil society.