Accommodating “Democracy” in a One-Party State: Introducing Village Elections in China

Kevin J. O'BRIEN; Lianjiang LI

doi:10.1017/S0305741000008213

Accommodating “Democracy” in a One-Party State: Introducing Village Elections in China

Kevin J. O'BRIEN, Lianjiang LI

Research output: Journal Publications › Journal Article (refereed) › peer-review

215 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

When residents of a few Guangxi villages decided to elect their own leaders in late 1980 and early 1981, none of them could have known they were starting a historic reform. What began as a stopgap effort to fill a political vacuum, after much debate and two decades of uneven implementation, is now enshrined in a national law. Procedures for holding elections have been spelled out and implementing regulations are being formulated at all levels. Voting is now mandatory every three years in every village, bar none.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	465-489
Number of pages	25
Journal	China Quarterly
Volume	162
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305741000008213
Publication status	Published - Jun 2000
Externally published	Yes

Bibliographical note

For generous financial support, we would like to thank the Asia Foundation, the Henry Luce Foundation, The Research and Writing Program of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Pacific Cultural Foundation, and the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong.

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10.1017/S0305741000008213

Cite this

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title = "Accommodating “Democracy” in a One-Party State: Introducing Village Elections in China",

abstract = "When residents of a few Guangxi villages decided to elect their own leaders in late 1980 and early 1981, none of them could have known they were starting a historic reform. What began as a stopgap effort to fill a political vacuum, after much debate and two decades of uneven implementation, is now enshrined in a national law. Procedures for holding elections have been spelled out and implementing regulations are being formulated at all levels. Voting is now mandatory every three years in every village, bar none.",

author = "O'BRIEN, {Kevin J.} and Lianjiang LI",

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N2 - When residents of a few Guangxi villages decided to elect their own leaders in late 1980 and early 1981, none of them could have known they were starting a historic reform. What began as a stopgap effort to fill a political vacuum, after much debate and two decades of uneven implementation, is now enshrined in a national law. Procedures for holding elections have been spelled out and implementing regulations are being formulated at all levels. Voting is now mandatory every three years in every village, bar none.

AB - When residents of a few Guangxi villages decided to elect their own leaders in late 1980 and early 1981, none of them could have known they were starting a historic reform. What began as a stopgap effort to fill a political vacuum, after much debate and two decades of uneven implementation, is now enshrined in a national law. Procedures for holding elections have been spelled out and implementing regulations are being formulated at all levels. Voting is now mandatory every three years in every village, bar none.

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Accommodating “Democracy” in a One-Party State: Introducing Village Elections in China

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Access to Document

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