State Governance and Protest Fragmentation: A Critical Inquiry into Veterans’ Activism in China

Kai YANG

doi:10.1080/14672715.2026.2629857

State Governance and Protest Fragmentation: A Critical Inquiry into Veterans’ Activism in China

Kai YANG^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Lingnan University

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

Abstract

This article is a critical inquiry into the dynamics of state governance and protest fragmentation in contemporary China. Drawing on a case analysis of veterans’ activism and evidence from ethnographic fieldwork conducted between 2019 and 2024, it argues that three commonly adopted approaches to social governance—localization, categorization, and individualization—systematically fragment veteran constituency and shatter broad-based solidarity. However, each of the three approaches generates unintended consequences. Local governance, which is structurally incapable of resolving national grievances, often provokes cross-regional mobilization; categorized governance, by institutionalizing differential treatment for different veteran subgroups, fuels sustained contention through relative deprivation; and individualized governance encourages transactional activism, whereby veterans extract personal concessions beyond the scope of legitimate grievances. By framing state-society interactions as a dynamic process, this inquiry advances theories of contentious politics and authoritarianism, revealing how the routine operation of social governance can intentionally or unintentionally reshape the landscape of contention it seeks to manage.

Original language	English
Journal	Critical Asian Studies
Early online date	22 Feb 2026
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/14672715.2026.2629857
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 22 Feb 2026

Bibliographical note

An earlier version of this paper was presented at the American Political Science Association (APSA) Asia-Pacific Workshop, “Theorizing Collective Actions in Asia,” City University of Hong Kong, August 21, 2023. I would like to thank Edmund Cheng, Jai Kwan Jung, Pierre Landry, Elvin Ong, Mark R. Thompson, Meredith Weiss, and Samson Yuen for their helpful comments. I am also grateful to Dr. Robert Shepherd and the anonymous reviewers at Critical Asian Studies for their patient and constructive feedback, which greatly strengthened this work.

Funding

This study was supported by the Hong Kong Research Grants Council under the General Research Fund (GRF, no. 13609724) for the project, “How State Concessions Impact the Dynamics of Contention? Institutional Accommodation and the Changing Landscape of Veterans' Activism in China.”

Keywords

divisive control
fragmentation
contentious politics
Chinese veterans
authoritarianism

Access to Document

10.1080/14672715.2026.2629857Licence: CC BY-NC-ND

Cite this

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title = "State Governance and Protest Fragmentation: A Critical Inquiry into Veterans{\textquoteright} Activism in China",

abstract = "This article is a critical inquiry into the dynamics of state governance and protest fragmentation in contemporary China. Drawing on a case analysis of veterans{\textquoteright} activism and evidence from ethnographic fieldwork conducted between 2019 and 2024, it argues that three commonly adopted approaches to social governance—localization, categorization, and individualization—systematically fragment veteran constituency and shatter broad-based solidarity. However, each of the three approaches generates unintended consequences. Local governance, which is structurally incapable of resolving national grievances, often provokes cross-regional mobilization; categorized governance, by institutionalizing differential treatment for different veteran subgroups, fuels sustained contention through relative deprivation; and individualized governance encourages transactional activism, whereby veterans extract personal concessions beyond the scope of legitimate grievances. By framing state-society interactions as a dynamic process, this inquiry advances theories of contentious politics and authoritarianism, revealing how the routine operation of social governance can intentionally or unintentionally reshape the landscape of contention it seeks to manage.",

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note = "An earlier version of this paper was presented at the American Political Science Association (APSA) Asia-Pacific Workshop, “Theorizing Collective Actions in Asia,” City University of Hong Kong, August 21, 2023. I would like to thank Edmund Cheng, Jai Kwan Jung, Pierre Landry, Elvin Ong, Mark R. Thompson, Meredith Weiss, and Samson Yuen for their helpful comments. I am also grateful to Dr. Robert Shepherd and the anonymous reviewers at Critical Asian Studies for their patient and constructive feedback, which greatly strengthened this work.",

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N2 - This article is a critical inquiry into the dynamics of state governance and protest fragmentation in contemporary China. Drawing on a case analysis of veterans’ activism and evidence from ethnographic fieldwork conducted between 2019 and 2024, it argues that three commonly adopted approaches to social governance—localization, categorization, and individualization—systematically fragment veteran constituency and shatter broad-based solidarity. However, each of the three approaches generates unintended consequences. Local governance, which is structurally incapable of resolving national grievances, often provokes cross-regional mobilization; categorized governance, by institutionalizing differential treatment for different veteran subgroups, fuels sustained contention through relative deprivation; and individualized governance encourages transactional activism, whereby veterans extract personal concessions beyond the scope of legitimate grievances. By framing state-society interactions as a dynamic process, this inquiry advances theories of contentious politics and authoritarianism, revealing how the routine operation of social governance can intentionally or unintentionally reshape the landscape of contention it seeks to manage.

AB - This article is a critical inquiry into the dynamics of state governance and protest fragmentation in contemporary China. Drawing on a case analysis of veterans’ activism and evidence from ethnographic fieldwork conducted between 2019 and 2024, it argues that three commonly adopted approaches to social governance—localization, categorization, and individualization—systematically fragment veteran constituency and shatter broad-based solidarity. However, each of the three approaches generates unintended consequences. Local governance, which is structurally incapable of resolving national grievances, often provokes cross-regional mobilization; categorized governance, by institutionalizing differential treatment for different veteran subgroups, fuels sustained contention through relative deprivation; and individualized governance encourages transactional activism, whereby veterans extract personal concessions beyond the scope of legitimate grievances. By framing state-society interactions as a dynamic process, this inquiry advances theories of contentious politics and authoritarianism, revealing how the routine operation of social governance can intentionally or unintentionally reshape the landscape of contention it seeks to manage.

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KW - authoritarianism

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JO - Critical Asian Studies

JF - Critical Asian Studies

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State Governance and Protest Fragmentation: A Critical Inquiry into Veterans’ Activism in China

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

Keywords

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

How State Concessions Impact the Dynamics of Contention? Institutional Accommodation and the Changing Landscape of Veterans’ Activism in China (国家让步如何影响抗争动态？制度性安抚与中国老兵维权活动的变迁)

Cite this

State Governance and Protest Fragmentation: A Critical Inquiry into Veterans’ Activism in China

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

Keywords

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Projects

How State Concessions Impact the Dynamics of Contention? Institutional Accommodation and the Changing Landscape of Veterans’ Activism in China (国家让步如何影响抗争动态？制度性安抚与中国老兵维权活动的变迁)

Cite this