Download full text
(external source)
Citation Suggestion
Please use the following Persistent Identifier (PID) to cite this document:
https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:gbv:18-4-6376
Exports for your reference manager
Fragmented authoritarianism and protest channels: a case study of resistance to privatizing a hospital
Fragmentierter Autoritarismus und Protestkanäle: eine Fallstudie zum Widerstand gegen die Privatisierung eines Krankenhauses
[journal article]
Abstract Can citizens in an authoritarian country like China influence policy implementation?
Two types of scholarship indicate ways that they can: The first proposes that policy
implementation is carried out through a fragmented authoritarian system that requires
consultation and cooper... view more
Can citizens in an authoritarian country like China influence policy implementation?
Two types of scholarship indicate ways that they can: The first proposes that policy
implementation is carried out through a fragmented authoritarian system that requires
consultation and cooperation among various government units, and this system is amenable
to pressure from outside groups. The second examines institutional channels designed
to handle grievances and bridge communication between citizens and the authorities.
In this paper, I emphasize a link between these two bodies of scholarship, showing
how protest channels are connected to the fragmented authoritarian system and how
the imperative to maintain social stability leads higher-level authorities to resolve
depart-mental conflicts in favour of protesters. I do this by examining a struggle
against the privatization of a hospital in North China, a case that illustrates how
protesters successfully employed both the petition system and the opportunities offered
by the fragmented authoritarian system to develop powerful alliances, to peacefully
pressure top local authorities to intervene and to overcome opposition in the local
government, leading to finalizing the municipalization of the hospital.... view less
Keywords
China; authoritarian system; protest movement; protest behavior; resistance; privatization; hospital; petition; conflict management; political participation; social stability; Far East
Classification
Political Process, Elections, Political Sociology, Political Culture
Health Policy
Method
descriptive study
Document language
English
Publication Year
2013
Page/Pages
p. 195-224
Journal
Journal of Current Chinese Affairs, 42 (2013) 2
ISSN
1868-4874
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed
Licence
Creative Commons - Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works