Widespread social protests in today's China have attracted much attention from academia, and a large body of literature has been produced to explain the causes, processes and outcomes of these protests. Xi Chen's book provides new perspectives on issues with respect to contentious politics in contemporary China. Specifically, the book sheds new light on political opportunity structure, protest tactics, and the state's institution-based handling of social conflict. The main puzzle this book addresses is the reason “why there has been a dramatic rise in, and routinization of, social protests in China since the early 1990s” (p. 5). Although there has been research on the increase in social protests in China, this book analyses the issue by highlighting that the rise and routinization of social protests is mainly due to the direct facilitation of such activities by the Party-state. It finds that inherent contradictions and ambiguities in the state's ideologies and institutions create opportunities and incentives for the aggrieved to take action.
The author substantiates these arguments by using the case of collective petitions, mostly in Hunan province. Chen nicely combines the official data on petitions in a city in Hunan and his own interviews with petitioners and officials. Chapter two presents collective petitions in Hunan province between 1985 and 2001, indicating the types of grievances that drove the people to make petitions. It also presents a brief history of the petition system in China. Chapter three discusses the strategies employed by the state authority in dealing with petitioners, including repression, concession, persuasion and procrastination. These strategies, to some extent, reflect the constraints faced by the state as well as the power it possesses. Chapter four addresses the major issue of the book: how inherent contradictions of the Party-state shape collective petitions. It finds that the operation of the petition system has been heavily influenced by the Party's mass line policy. Yet, while the petition system has created a channel for political participation, it also has serious limitations: specifically, its limited effectiveness.
Cognizant of the opportunities and constraints in the political system, Chinese petitioners must be strategic and cautious when taking action. Chapter five analyses the rationale behind petitioners' behavioural patterns. It demonstrates that participants tend to portray themselves as loyal members of the regime and avoid challenging the Party. But meanwhile, it is also clear to petitioners that following state-prescribed rules does not necessarily lead them to success. Hence, some petitioners have taken rule-violating action or have used defiance in order to increase their chance of success. Chapter six further explores the effectiveness of different types of “trouble-making” tactics, including persuasive tactics, disruption of social order and disruption of government operation. The statistical analysis shows that size of complaints, publicity about petitioning, and level of disruptions are statistically significant, meaning that such tactics are more likely to result in a government response.
As Chen states at the outset, this book highlights the role of the state in shaping popular contention in China. Chapter seven concludes by discussing issues with respect to the state, elite, and political opportunities. It suggests that “social protests in China can best be understood as contentious bargaining” (p. 207). When petitioners' non-regime-threatening claims are (partly) incorporated into the political system, the possibility of anti-system actions, such as revolutions, diminishes. Therefore, the pre-existing political institutions in China, together with the strategies employed by the state authority, contribute to social stability in China.
This book explains the rise of social protests in China by focusing on the petition system and petitioners' activities. It is true that collective petition remains the most basic mode of collective action in China. It may be useful to refer to other types of collective action or protests that have not escalated from collective petitions (such as strikes) to assess whether the contradictions and ambiguities in other settings may create similar political opportunities or incentive structures for participants. Similarly, almost all types of sanctioned channels of conflict resolution (e.g. lawsuits, labour arbitration) have been exploited by an unprecedented number of people in China today. It could also be helpful to discuss whether such an increase follows the logic that is presented in this book.
These minor points aside, this is a well-researched and well-written book. It presents the most comprehensive examination so far of the operation of the petition system in China. Its discussion of petitioners' behavioural patterns and tactics is systematic, illuminating and convincing. By looking at the operation of the petition system and petitioners' activities, the book uncovers the workings of the Chinese political system that shapes state–citizen interaction and explains the emergence of opportunities for collective action in China. This book is an excellent addition to the literature on contentious politics in China. It should also be of interest to those who wish to understand the operation of the Chinese political system.
