Everyday democracy : civil society, youth, and the struggle against authoritarian culture in China /
"An understanding of civil society in China is generally premised on the idea that extra-party associations may help usher in a new era of democracy. Yet civil society's significance is not limited to how NGOs interact with the state. Within a society where virtually all major social insti...
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| Format: | eBook |
| Language: | English |
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New York :
Columbia University Press,
[2024]
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| Summary: | "An understanding of civil society in China is generally premised on the idea that extra-party associations may help usher in a new era of democracy. Yet civil society's significance is not limited to how NGOs interact with the state. Within a society where virtually all major social institutions - from schools to workplaces to government - exist within the larger context of authoritarian rule, what is a reasonable expectation of the role of associations if democracy were to emerge in China? In Everyday Democracy, Anthony J. Spires argues that in daily life, few people in China experience democratic organizational culture. The formal institutions of education, politics, and business are hierarchical. Even 'grassroots' organizations founded by people who advocate for liberal political reforms are prone to the norms and practices of an authoritarian organizational culture. Inspired by Tocqueville and Gramsci, Spires focuses on micro-level practices that stifle dissent within informal organizations in order to develop the concept of hegemonic authoritarianism. He draws on fieldwork conducted over a period of roughly 13 years, from 2005 through 2017, involving hundreds of hours of participant observation and over a hundred interviews with stakeholders working across multiple issue domains, all with his focus trained on internal organizational culture. In sum, Spires argues that non-state organizations in China should be seen as points of origin rather than evidence of democracy"-- |
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| Physical Description: | viii, 301 pages. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| ISBN: | 9780231558945 (electronic bk.) 0231558945 (electronic bk.) |