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Path to Democracy? Assessing village elections in China

Election procedures in rural China have improved greatly over the last 20 years and a good number of reasonably free and fair elections have been held. But changes in the 'exercise of power' have not kept up with changes in the 'access to power'. In many communities, township aut...

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Published in:	The Journal of contemporary China 2009-06, Vol.18 (60), p.359-378
Main Authors:	O'Brien, Kevin J., Han, Rongbin
Format:	Article
Language:	English
Subjects:	China Clans Democracy Democratization Elections Grass Roots Local elections Local politics Peoples Republic of China Political parties Political power Power Religious cultural groups Rules and practice Rural areas Villages
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container_title	The Journal of contemporary China
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description	Election procedures in rural China have improved greatly over the last 20 years and a good number of reasonably free and fair elections have been held. But changes in the 'exercise of power' have not kept up with changes in the 'access to power'. In many communities, township authorities, Party branches, and social forces (such as clans, religious groups, and underworld elements) continue to impede democratic rule. This suggests that a purely procedural definition of democracy is problematic and that democratization depends on the power configuration in which elected bodies are embedded. Putting grassroots democracy into place goes well beyond getting the procedures right, and 'high quality' democracy rests on much more than convening good village elections every three years.
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source	International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS); EBSCOhost MLA International Bibliography With Full Text; Taylor & Francis; Worldwide Political Science Abstracts; Humanities Index
subjects	China Clans Democracy Democratization Elections Grass Roots Local elections Local politics Peoples Republic of China Political parties Political power Power Religious cultural groups Rules and practice Rural areas Villages
title	Path to Democracy? Assessing village elections in China
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