Responsive Authoritarianism in China: Land, Protests, and Policy Making

How can protests influence policy making in a repressive dictatorship? _Responsive Authoritarianism in China_ sheds light on this important question through case studies of land takings and demolitions – two of the most explosive issues in contemporary China. In the early 2000s, landless farmers and evictees unleashed waves of disruptive protests. Surprisingly, the Chinese government responded by adopting wideranging policy changes that addressed many of the protesters’ grievances. Heurlin traces policy changes from local protests in the provinces to the halls of the National People’s Congress (NPC) in Beijing. In so doing, he highlights the interplay between local protests, state institutions, and elite politics. He shows that the much-maligned petitioning system actually plays an important role in elevating protesters’ concerns to the policy-making agenda. Delving deep into the policy-making process, this book illustrates how the State Council and NPC have become battlegrounds for conflicts between ministries and local governments over state policies.