1st Edition

Dams, Migration and Authoritarianism in China The Local State in Yunnan

By Sabrina Habich Copyright 2016
    188 Pages 18 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    188 Pages 18 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    Past studies on the Chinese state point towards the inherent adaptability, effectiveness and overall stability of authoritarian rule in China. The key question addressed here is how this adaptive capacity plays out at the local level in China, clarifying the extent to which local state actors are able to shape local processes of policy implementation.

    This book studies the evolution of dam-induced resettlement policy in China, based on extensive fieldwork conducted in Yunnan province. It shows that local governments at the lowest administrative levels are caught in a double bind, facing strong top-down pressures in the important policy field of hydropower development, while simultaneously having to handle growing social pressure from local communities affected by resettlement policies. In doing so, the book questions the widespread assumption that the observed longevity and resilience of China’s authoritarian regime is to a large extent due to the high degree of flexibility that has been granted to local governments in the course of the reform period. The research extends beyond previous analyses of policy implementation by focusing on the state, on society and the ways in which they interact, as well as by examining what happens when policy implementation is interrupted.

    Analysing the application of resettlement policies in contemporary China, with a focus on the multiple constraints that Chinese local states face, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of Political Science, Chinese Studies and Sociology.

    1. Introduction: Authoritarianism, Policy, And Dams 2. Fragmented Mediation And The Local State 3. Dam Resettlement Policy In China 4. Hydropower Development, Resettlement And The Nuozhadu Dam 5. One Dam, Many Policies: The Resettlement Experience Of Green Mountain Village 6. One Dam, Many Policies: Resettlement Experience Of South Stream Village 7. Conclusion – Policy, Power And Mediation

    Biography

    Sabrina Habich is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Tübingen, Germany.

    "Habich argues that the case studies provide evidence of 'fragmented mediation under hierarchy' consisting of local governments caught in a double-bind, forced to obey orders issued by their superiors who are subject to the project margins of hydropower companies but also placed under pressure to satisfy the demands made by local resettlement communities (p148)."

    Jerry McBeath, University of Alaska, Journal of Chinese Political Science, 2017