The Change And Reconstruction Of The Rural Governance Model In The View Of Modern State-building

Modern state, or put it in other words, the nation-state, is the most effective form of political organization in human history to date (Robert Gilpin), so the degree of state-building within a given country can be relied upon as a benchmark to examine its progress in modernization. Ever since China undertook the tax reform in 1994, great and far-reaching changes have been witnessed in areas such as agricultural policy, rural-related legal system and the structure of the rural society as well, a series of problems arise in the meantime. These changes bring forward positive impacts on state-building with concurrent negative implications. Issues such as the so-called "power vacuum", "governance problem" and "moral crisis" which are identified in some areas of China have drawn wide concern from the pubic, and effective resolution of these issues calls for comprehensive understanding of the implications of pertinent policies.By focusing on the topic "how the state achieves its objectives when it interacts with peasants", the author starts from the perspective of state-building and make great efforts to describe, analyse and compare the various rural governance models adopted in different periods of the Chinese history, thus endeavours to present a macro-picture of the dynamics of change in China's rural governance. The author hopes this paper will facilitate and deepen our understanding of China's "new countryside construction policy" with his contribution of thoughts from an academic perspective.In the first chapter, the author describes the evolution of the changes of the rural grass-root governance model in China's traditional countryside society. Based on this historical context, the author tries to identify the state's "path dependence" in asserting its existence in the rural areas. Given the long history and fluid change of the grass-root models as well as different situations in China's extensive landmass, the author categorizes these governance models by means of comparison, and observe their implications for state-building accordingly.Chapter two describes the birth, growth and rupture process of the state-building in China's rural society - the main content and basic element of the "new deal" policy adopted by the governments from the late Qing dynasty to Republic of China period. In this chapter, the author uses the term "involution", a concept developed by Prasenjit Duara, to analyse the whole process.Chapter three provides a review of the period of 1949-1978. The author will look back on the history of "restructuring" the rural society and the entrenchment of the state in rural areas since the Chinese Communist Party came into power as a result of land reform, agricultural co-operation and the establishment of people's communes. The author makes an analysis on the organizational structure, operational mechanism of the people's commune system, followed with an evaluation of its overall performance as well as a review of the innate contradictions and constraints encountered by the ruling party.Chapter four depicts the emergence and development of the "township rule & village self-rule" model which was adopted during 1979-1993. The author will also decompose the predicament faced by the state within this governance model.In chapter five, the author probes into the possible and viable approach of state intervention in China's rural society after China's tax reform in 1994. The author argues that a "cooperative governance" model is in urgent need in the context of China's adoption of harmonious and balanced rural-urban development strategy to accommodate the significant transformation of agricultural policies adopted by the government. The basic approach applied in this model would be engaging the peasants and ensure their legitimate right to directly elect the village leaders in order to create dynamics for cooperation between the state and the rural society. The author holds that essential multi-level cooperation can only be achieved among the three stakeholders—the state, village organizations and peasants by means of exerting pressure from the bottom up, thus the state can succeed moderately in achieving its objective of asserting its authority in the rural areas.