PROSPECTS FOR CIVIL SOCIETY IN CHINA - A CASE-STUDY OF XIAOSHAN CITY

Sets out to examine how useful the notion of "civil society' is in describing and explaining social change in contemporary Chinese society, investigating the empirical utility of the idea through a case-study of one Chinese city. The Xiaoshan case supports the argument that, with the socio-economic changes wrought by the economic reforms, a social space has begun to open up between the state and economic agents, and a parallel shift has occurred in the balance of power between the state and the new non-state sectors. However, in the context of a semi-reform economy, the state continues to retain a great deal of its power and has moved to occupy this space and organize the newly emergent, dispersed sources of economic power by encouraging the establishment of social organizations to act as intermediaries. In consequence, a new type of social organization has emerged which embodies contradictory elements; social organizations are a dualistic institutional form that mirrors the increasing dualism of China's economy and society. -from Author