China's social credit system can be examined as a governance tool which sorts citizenship... more China's social credit system can be examined as a governance tool which sorts citizenship behaviors into trustworthy and untrustworthy categories as part of the regime's long-standing effort to cultivate a loyal citizenry. Based on a data set comprised of central-level official documents, national model citizen lists, and media reports, this study qualitatively examines how the Chinese state constructs "good" and "bad" citi
Supplemental material, CPS_Targets_Paper_Appendix_A_and_B for Targets, Grievances, and Social Mov... more Supplemental material, CPS_Targets_Paper_Appendix_A_and_B for Targets, Grievances, and Social Movement Trajectories by Erica S. Simmons in Comparative Political Studies
(Contains full-text of 8000+ letters to local officials collected from local Mayors' Mailboxe... more (Contains full-text of 8000+ letters to local officials collected from local Mayors' Mailboxes across China.)
Why do targets of social movement activities respond to movements in the ways they do? Many facto... more Why do targets of social movement activities respond to movements in the ways they do? Many factors play a role in shaping targets’ responses to social movement activities. This article focuses on one particular factor: targets’ perceptions of social movement claims. The article argues that a target’s understanding of a social movement’s claims helps shape its response, which, in turn, shapes the evolution of the social movement. Two cases of social mobilization, one in response to water privatization in Bolivia and the other in response to rising corn prices in Mexico, serve as a lens through which to explore these issues. In each case, differences in how public authorities understood the movements’ claims help explain why they reacted in starkly different ways to the emerging movements. Where officials appreciated the symbolic value of the good at stake, they acted quickly to curtail resistance. Where officials failed to grasp those meanings, they dismissed the potential for wides...
provides sufficient evidence to indicate that upward mobility is a significant problem in India t... more provides sufficient evidence to indicate that upward mobility is a significant problem in India that affects a large number of people. The rest of the book offers an explanation for why upward mobility is restricted and how to improve it. Krishna argues that the main explanation for the blockage, other things being equal, is the “microclimate” in which the poor live. By this he means a combination of material and non-material factors. The material factors include, in particular, an educational infrastructure with easily accessible schools and the trained teachers. By nonmaterial factors Krishna means attitudes, information, values, and beliefs which, he argues, are just as important and can prevent upward mobility even in the presence of the right infrastructure. To illustrate, he offers the example of Chandru, who did not pursue a college education despite a full scholarship because his family believed that higher education was “not for the likes of us” and there were no role models or counter-examples or information to contradict that belief (p. 22). In proposing solutions, Krishna again focuses on microclimate—this time the microclimate of reform. The Indian state, he argues, is distant, and centralized and proposes uniform policies that do not fit well with local conditions. What is needed is an approach to policy that is proximate, localized, and flexible. He advocates the strengthening of what he calls “street level bureaucrats”— village-level patwaris (land registrars), village council secretaries, police constables, agricultural supervisors, and what he calls “last mile” institutions. He also advocates for a model of governance that incorporates local customs or that outsources tasks to institutions such as traditional village councils (p. 169). Krishna’s focus on microclimates—and in particular, the “soft,” non-material aspects of a microclimate—is one of the most important and eloquent parts of the book. The emphasis on changing the beliefs of citizens about who they can be and who they can become recalls Amartya Sen’s (1999) capabilities approach to development and welfare, revisited here in very concrete ways. And the emphasis on a localized, flexible approach to development suggests an illuminating connection with James Scott’s (1999) critiques of the modern, universalizing state, arrived at via a very different route. But in the end it is precisely the prescription for reforming the microclimate of development that deserves greater interrogation, not only by a reviewer, but also by the author. Krishna advocates the strengthening of streetlevel bureaucrats while glossing over the many ways in which street-level bureaucrats can and have contributed to the problem of reform through rent-seeking or other kinds of exploitative behaviour. Krishna acknowledges such behaviour, but does not fully engage with the problems it poses for his prescription. He simply asserts that it is a consequence of a “design weakness in the system” (p. 161) that can be neutralized by better training, motivation and citizen-centred institutions that enforce local accountability. The Broken Ladder would have been strengthened by a systematic evaluation of the effectiveness of such institutions where they do exist. They have, for instance, been built into the design of the National Rural Employment Guarantee programme, as well as in panchayati raj (village self-government reform) in several states. Similarly, the book has a relatively uncritical approach to local customary institutions and practices, recommending that they be incorporated into local governance without fully engaging with the question of how these institutions can often magnify inequalities, or give new form to patriarchal or other socially conservative practices. Krishna notes that this possibility exists but dismisses it rather lightly: “Newspaper accounts have highlighted the monstrous judgments handed down on occasion by some traditional institutions. But these aren’t the only decisions they make, and they aren’t the only traditional institutions.” (p. 169). The Broken Ladder would have benefited from a more extended discussion of, and a more critical approach to, the local.
How does China manage political participation? This chapter analyzes changing opportunities for p... more How does China manage political participation? This chapter analyzes changing opportunities for participation in the leadership transition from Hu Jintao to Xi Jinping. Contentious political participation—where individuals and independent organizations engage in protest and other disruptive behavior—has been further curtailed under Xi’s leadership. Yet institutional participation by ordinary citizens through quasi-democratic institutions appears unaffected and is even trending up in certain sectors. Manipulation of the political opportunity structure is likely strategic behavior on the part of authoritarian rulers, as they seek to incorporate or appease the discontented. The political opportunity structure in non-democracies is therefore multifaceted: one channel of participation can close as others expand.
How should we study citizenship in authoritarian regimes? We propose studying how citizenship is ... more How should we study citizenship in authoritarian regimes? We propose studying how citizenship is performed using the “public transcript”—communication between ordinary citizens and political authorities. The stakes of these strategic communications allow us to observe the roles citizens play to elicit assistance from authoritarian elites. We use this technique to study citizenship in contemporary China, analyzing evidence from an original database of over eight thousand appeals to local officials. These public transcripts reveal three ideal-type scripts of citizenship. First, we observe individuals performing subjecthood, positioning themselves as subalterns before benevolent rulers. We also identify an authoritarian legal citizenship that appeals to the formal legal commitments of the state. Finally, we find evidence for a socialist citizenship which appeals to the moral duties of officials to provide collective welfare. This approach eschews a classification scheme based on regime...
China's social credit system can be examined as a governance tool which sorts citizenship... more China's social credit system can be examined as a governance tool which sorts citizenship behaviors into trustworthy and untrustworthy categories as part of the regime's long-standing effort to cultivate a loyal citizenry. Based on a data set comprised of central-level official documents, national model citizen lists, and media reports, this study qualitatively examines how the Chinese state constructs "good" and "bad" citi
Supplemental material, CPS_Targets_Paper_Appendix_A_and_B for Targets, Grievances, and Social Mov... more Supplemental material, CPS_Targets_Paper_Appendix_A_and_B for Targets, Grievances, and Social Movement Trajectories by Erica S. Simmons in Comparative Political Studies
(Contains full-text of 8000+ letters to local officials collected from local Mayors' Mailboxe... more (Contains full-text of 8000+ letters to local officials collected from local Mayors' Mailboxes across China.)
Why do targets of social movement activities respond to movements in the ways they do? Many facto... more Why do targets of social movement activities respond to movements in the ways they do? Many factors play a role in shaping targets’ responses to social movement activities. This article focuses on one particular factor: targets’ perceptions of social movement claims. The article argues that a target’s understanding of a social movement’s claims helps shape its response, which, in turn, shapes the evolution of the social movement. Two cases of social mobilization, one in response to water privatization in Bolivia and the other in response to rising corn prices in Mexico, serve as a lens through which to explore these issues. In each case, differences in how public authorities understood the movements’ claims help explain why they reacted in starkly different ways to the emerging movements. Where officials appreciated the symbolic value of the good at stake, they acted quickly to curtail resistance. Where officials failed to grasp those meanings, they dismissed the potential for wides...
provides sufficient evidence to indicate that upward mobility is a significant problem in India t... more provides sufficient evidence to indicate that upward mobility is a significant problem in India that affects a large number of people. The rest of the book offers an explanation for why upward mobility is restricted and how to improve it. Krishna argues that the main explanation for the blockage, other things being equal, is the “microclimate” in which the poor live. By this he means a combination of material and non-material factors. The material factors include, in particular, an educational infrastructure with easily accessible schools and the trained teachers. By nonmaterial factors Krishna means attitudes, information, values, and beliefs which, he argues, are just as important and can prevent upward mobility even in the presence of the right infrastructure. To illustrate, he offers the example of Chandru, who did not pursue a college education despite a full scholarship because his family believed that higher education was “not for the likes of us” and there were no role models or counter-examples or information to contradict that belief (p. 22). In proposing solutions, Krishna again focuses on microclimate—this time the microclimate of reform. The Indian state, he argues, is distant, and centralized and proposes uniform policies that do not fit well with local conditions. What is needed is an approach to policy that is proximate, localized, and flexible. He advocates the strengthening of what he calls “street level bureaucrats”— village-level patwaris (land registrars), village council secretaries, police constables, agricultural supervisors, and what he calls “last mile” institutions. He also advocates for a model of governance that incorporates local customs or that outsources tasks to institutions such as traditional village councils (p. 169). Krishna’s focus on microclimates—and in particular, the “soft,” non-material aspects of a microclimate—is one of the most important and eloquent parts of the book. The emphasis on changing the beliefs of citizens about who they can be and who they can become recalls Amartya Sen’s (1999) capabilities approach to development and welfare, revisited here in very concrete ways. And the emphasis on a localized, flexible approach to development suggests an illuminating connection with James Scott’s (1999) critiques of the modern, universalizing state, arrived at via a very different route. But in the end it is precisely the prescription for reforming the microclimate of development that deserves greater interrogation, not only by a reviewer, but also by the author. Krishna advocates the strengthening of streetlevel bureaucrats while glossing over the many ways in which street-level bureaucrats can and have contributed to the problem of reform through rent-seeking or other kinds of exploitative behaviour. Krishna acknowledges such behaviour, but does not fully engage with the problems it poses for his prescription. He simply asserts that it is a consequence of a “design weakness in the system” (p. 161) that can be neutralized by better training, motivation and citizen-centred institutions that enforce local accountability. The Broken Ladder would have been strengthened by a systematic evaluation of the effectiveness of such institutions where they do exist. They have, for instance, been built into the design of the National Rural Employment Guarantee programme, as well as in panchayati raj (village self-government reform) in several states. Similarly, the book has a relatively uncritical approach to local customary institutions and practices, recommending that they be incorporated into local governance without fully engaging with the question of how these institutions can often magnify inequalities, or give new form to patriarchal or other socially conservative practices. Krishna notes that this possibility exists but dismisses it rather lightly: “Newspaper accounts have highlighted the monstrous judgments handed down on occasion by some traditional institutions. But these aren’t the only decisions they make, and they aren’t the only traditional institutions.” (p. 169). The Broken Ladder would have benefited from a more extended discussion of, and a more critical approach to, the local.
How does China manage political participation? This chapter analyzes changing opportunities for p... more How does China manage political participation? This chapter analyzes changing opportunities for participation in the leadership transition from Hu Jintao to Xi Jinping. Contentious political participation—where individuals and independent organizations engage in protest and other disruptive behavior—has been further curtailed under Xi’s leadership. Yet institutional participation by ordinary citizens through quasi-democratic institutions appears unaffected and is even trending up in certain sectors. Manipulation of the political opportunity structure is likely strategic behavior on the part of authoritarian rulers, as they seek to incorporate or appease the discontented. The political opportunity structure in non-democracies is therefore multifaceted: one channel of participation can close as others expand.
How should we study citizenship in authoritarian regimes? We propose studying how citizenship is ... more How should we study citizenship in authoritarian regimes? We propose studying how citizenship is performed using the “public transcript”—communication between ordinary citizens and political authorities. The stakes of these strategic communications allow us to observe the roles citizens play to elicit assistance from authoritarian elites. We use this technique to study citizenship in contemporary China, analyzing evidence from an original database of over eight thousand appeals to local officials. These public transcripts reveal three ideal-type scripts of citizenship. First, we observe individuals performing subjecthood, positioning themselves as subalterns before benevolent rulers. We also identify an authoritarian legal citizenship that appeals to the formal legal commitments of the state. Finally, we find evidence for a socialist citizenship which appeals to the moral duties of officials to provide collective welfare. This approach eschews a classification scheme based on regime...
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