Xi Chen is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His articles have appeared in Comparative Politics and The China Quarterly. He has contributed to three books: Contemporary Chinese Politics: New Sources, Methods, and Field Strategies (Cambridge University Press, 2010), edited by Allen Carlson et al; Popular Protest in China (2008), edited by Kevin O'Brien; and Grassroots Political Reform in Contemporary China (2007), edited by Elizabeth Perry and Merle Goldman.

• Part I. A Contentious Society: 1. Introduction; 2. The surge in social protests from a historical perspective; Part II. Political Opportunity Structure: 3. Market reforms and state strategies; 4. The Xifang system and political opportunity; Part III. Protest Strategies and Tactics: 5. Between defiance and obedience; 6. 'Troublemaking' tactics and their efficacy; Part IV. Conclusion: 7. Reflections and speculations.

'Xi Chen's impressive study represents the best of recent scholarship on China: conceptually innovative, empirically rich, and historically grounded. His state-centered model of 'contentious authoritarianism' sheds new light on the surge of social protest in China in recent years and, equally importantly, on why social protest does not necessarily threaten the stability of the current regime.' Bruce Dickson, George Washington University