Stanford University Press
Patronage and Power: Local State Networks and Party-State Resilience in Rural China
Key Metrics
- Ben Hillman
- Stanford University Press
- Hardcover
- 9780804789363
- 9.1 X 6.1 X 0.9 inches
- 1 pounds
- Political Science > American Government - State
- English
Secure TransactionBook Description
Power and Patronage examines the unwritten rules and inner workings of contemporary China's local politics and government. It exposes how these rules have helped to keep the one-Party state together during decades of tumultuous political, social, and economic change.
While many observers of Chinese politics have recognized the importance of informal institutions, this book explains how informal local groups actually operate, paying special attention to the role of patronage networks in political decision-making, political competition, and official corruption. While patronage networks are often seen as a parasite on the formal institutions of state, Hillman shows that patronage politics actually help China's political system function. In a system characterized by fragmented authority, personal power relations, and bureaucratic indiscipline, patronage networks play a critical role in facilitating policy coordination and bureaucratic bargaining. They also help to regulate political competition within the state, which reduces the potential for open conflict. Understanding patronage networks is essential for understanding the resilience of the Chinese state through decades of change.
Power and Patronage is filled with rich and fascinating accounts of the machinations of patronage networks and their role in the ruthless and sometimes violent competition for political power.
Author Bio
Ben Hillman is a political scientist, public policy researcher and advisor. His research examines policies and mechanisms for promoting political inclusion and safeguarding minority rights. Ben also specializes in political development, public policy and public administration in China.
Ben is author or editor of seven books, including a monograph on local politics in China Patronage and Power published by Stanford University Press (2014), an edited volume on Ethnic Protest and Conflict in Tibet and Xinjiang published by Columbia University Press (2016), an edited volume on the China Dream published by ANU Press (2020) and a collection of essays on authoritarian rule in China (World Scientific Press, 2022). He is currently working on a new book about the Communist Party of China.
Ben is Co-Editor of The China Journal, which is published by University of Chicago Press. He is also an Editor at East Asia Forum, and head of the Politics, Policy and Society Research Program at the Australian Centre on China in the World.
Education
- PhD in Politics and International Relations (ANU)
- BA Hons. Asian and International Studies (Griffith)
- BA Political Science and Asian Studies (Murdoch)
Source: Australian National University
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