Elections, Participation, and Social Security in China's Urban Neighbourhoods

Presentation by Professor Thomas Heberer, University of Duisburg-Essen

Elections, Participation, and Social Security in China's Urban Neighbourhoods – Developing a Model of Authoritarian Communitarianism?

Abstract: Major institutional changes in China's urban areas as, for instance, the decline of the state-owned sector, economic privatization, rural-urban migration, and the erosion of the traditional social security system required new forms of social control and social mobilization. This is the reason why at the end of the 1990s urban organizations were reorganized into new neighbourhood communities (shequ). By means of those communities the party-state attempts to foster social participation of the urban population, to implement new forms of social security and welfare, and to establishing new social values. Interestingly, this concept has many commonalities with the western concept of communitarianism. In his presentation Thomas Heberer presents findings of a major research project on participation, elections, new forms of social security and social stabilization in China's neighbourhood communities. His findings are based on field research in Shenyang, Chongqing, and Shenzhen in 2003 and 2004. 

Thomas Heberer studied Social Anthropology, Political Science and Sinology in Frankfurt, Göttingen, Mainz and Heidelberg (1967-73). He received his Ph.D. 1977 at the University of Bremen. He is Professor of Political Science and East Asian Studies at the University of Duisburg-Essen (Germany). He has worked and lived in China for many years and conducts regularly field work in China. He has published extensively on various issues of social and political change in China and Vietnam, nationalities issues, corruption, and private sector development.  

This seminar is one in a series on Challenges to Communist Party Rule in China, organized jointly by CBS’ Asia Research Centre and NIAS.