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The Practice Of Rural Mediation: Politics, Moral And Social Governance

Posted on:2008-03-25Degree:MasterType:Thesis
Country:ChinaCandidate:F L ChenFull Text:PDF
GTID:2166360215452986Subject:Sociology
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The mediation is that the mediator communicates with information, investigate the fact and explain the truth between the disputers, then make the disputers to forgive and compromise each other, based on the certain social rules including the custom, the morals and the law. In the research of law sociology, the mediation is often corresponds with the trial. There are two Paradigms in the mediation research. One is the totalitarianism theory, which believes that communism China is a totalitarian society. In such society, the politic is the dominant factor. The people-mediate system reflects the society character. The mediation is one kind of technology. The repressive mediate system not only has the function of solving dispute, but also instill political awareness .The state-society theory believes that the mediation is the interaction mechanism of dispute ,compromise and coordination between the state and society ,which reflects the power relation of the state and the society. Both totalitarian paradigm and state- society paradigm are difficult to extricate from the influence of the-function- legalism . Mediation has been seen as a technology power. Mediation is a political the implementation of top-down control for the community by the state. Functional analysis emphasizes on the power structure of mediation, the policy, the means of technical control and mediation functions. And the theory overlooks the micro-cultural background, "local knowledge" in the mediation. Mediation is not only a technology of power, but also is a cultural practice, which builds mediation facts. Mediation research focused on court mediation. But the rural mediation research is lack, especially for the rural mediation after the tax and fees reform.This paper studies the rural mediation after the tax and fees reform since 1990. The paper attempts to show the change of the relation of the government and the rural community, which has occurred, by the analysis of the mediation activities. This paper mainly concerns on two issues: First, the village dispute resolution mechanism and mediation strategy. Second, the legal image in rural communities. Since the 1980s, with the government power withdrawal from rural community, the mediation organizations network has been weakened greatly. However, as the frequency of rural social conflicts, the government pursuits the social management functions in rural mediation. The organization network of mediation still plays an important role in the rural mediation. At the same time, the family and clan has influenced on the rural mediation. The mediation cultural network has been strengthened. It is more important that the market impacts on the rural life. Interest started to infiltrate into the power network of rural mediation. Organization, culture and social interests play an important role in maintaining rural stability. Three factors have formed a new mediation network, which we call it the social network of mediation. The essence of the social networks is the relations of various powers, which have three factors: politics, culture, interests. This paper finds that the mediation network shapes the mediation process.Based on the study of the rural mediation process in S village in eastern of Anhui province. The paper finds that the mediation is not only a technological power, but also is a cultural practice, which also constructs cultural facts. In the process of mediation, the mediator construct political space and power dominate relations. Through the guiding principle in the mediation process, the mediator deal with the "social associations" for the dispute. Adapting complain-cry strategy makes the disputers go into the virtue-line–game field. Then, the mediation builds an offensive-duty obligation of the distribution system by the organization strategy .Finally, the political text ensures the mediation legality.The paper finds that the mediation is not focused on the judgment of the right or wrong, but efforts to resolve the problem. There is a special village mediation mechanism, which pays attention to the function of ethics, honor, and compassion in the mediation. The social status of the parties influence on the realignment of responsibilities. Rural mediation maintains the moral legitimacy of the mediation through public appraisal system. Although rural community has been open gradually. Knowledge of the law has been accepted by rural community .but the government has not built on the establishment and judgment mechanism of the law, in rural community. People have no law awareness, which protects them not by the law, but by the rural mediation. The awareness of avoiding law in rural society is from moral evaluation mechanisms.The paper finds that the direct conflict and confrontation between the government and rural community has been weakened after the tax and fees reform. The reform has led the government to the shift their work focus, from "of the government" to "for the society". The government began to pay more attention to play a leading role in the"service-oriented". The tax and fees reform has weakened the legitimacy of the village committee, but the government power has been strengthened in reform process.
Keywords/Search Tags:Mediation:
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