SOCIAL INFLUENCE AND VARIED GOVERNMENT RESPONSIVENESS IN CONTEMPORARY CHINA : A GRAMSCIAN APPROACH

Abstract

The state-society relationship in China is in a process of major transition. Many scholars have noticed that the traditional explanations that focus on state penetration and control cannot sufficiently capture reality. Instead, Chinese society shows growing independence and enjoys a collaborator position. Although tremendous efforts are expanded in explicating the reasons why the Chinese government would or would not respond to social demands, there are still overlooked areas that obscure the full picture. Why does the Chinese government respond differently to same social demands? Conversely, why does society succeed in pushing through a particular policy demand on some occasions but fail on others? Drawing upon the evidence from typical cases, this thesis argues that whether or not society can accurately utilize the dominant rhetoric and practices of and create necessary motivations for the target group greatly contributes to the variations in government responsiveness to social demands.