Understanding Village Governance in China Accountability and Responsivity in Authoritarian Systems

Date of Award

2008

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Hicks, Barbara

Keywords

China, Politics, Government, Accountability, Democratization, Decentralization, Responsivity

Area of Concentration

Political Science

Abstract

In the post-Mao era the Chinese state decentralized fiscal and administrative authority and implemented elections at the village level. The theories of decentralization and democratization indicate that these processes encourage good governance through the improved provision of public goods and services and the creation of policies which incorporate the values of the local community. The literature identifies accountability as the means by which local government is induced to act in the interest of its constituents. Lowering the level of decision-making increases the accountability of government officials to their constituents and implementing elections establishes a direct line of accountability between government officials and citizens. However, this study finds that responsivity mechanisms�norms that lead government officials to make decisions that respond to constituent interests�also improve governance, particularly when downward and horizontal accountability mechanisms are weak, as is often the case in authoritarian states. The processes of decentralization and democratization strengthen responsivity by increasing the decision-making power of local government officials and hence the role played by the norms and institutions these officials internalize. Given the authoritarian political context of China, in which semiauthoritarian villages are situated, examining how responsivity and accountability interact improves our understanding of the formal and informal institutions of village governance.

Rights

This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

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