Research On The Present Non‐institutionalized Political Participation Issues Of China

While the broadening of political participation is regarded as an important symbol of political modernization and development, it is also an integral part in the theory of political development. Along with the strengthening of citizens’ economic power and the awakening of civic awareness, their political demands are getting stronger by the day, and a growing number of people are actively joining the national political life through various channels and approaches. The17th National Congress of the CCP stressed that”the political participation of citizens should be broadened orderly from every levels and sectors; the people should be extensively mobilized and organized to manage the national and social affairs, as well as the economic and cultural undertakings in accordance with the law.” Presently, China is at a critical stage of economic and social transformation, the diverse problems of individual benefits brought about by the unbalanced economic development, the growing gap between the rich and the poor and the division of the interest structure have led to the intensification of social conflicts. It is under this backdrop that many types and forms of non‐institutional political participation have emerged and they have seriously disrupted the political and social order of China, affected and restrained the actual effect of citizens’ political participation and delayed the development process of China’s democratic politics.In terms of this core issue of “non‐institutionalized political participation”, this paper sorts out the relevant literatures concerning this field of research. By integrating the specific form of manifestation, characteristics, the causes and the subsequent results of China’s non‐institutionalized political participation, this paper proposes the selection of approaches for standardizing the present stage of China’s non‐institutionalized political participation. Specifically, the discussion touches on four aspects, namely the establishing of a scientifically stable mentality to create conditions for the expression of citizen’s interests; transformation of governance mode, the upgrading of governance capability of the local governments; improvement on the political participation system, broadening the channel of institutionalized political participation and enhancement of the awareness and quality of the citizens. The characteristics and focus of this paper is to propose selection of approaches for the transformation from non‐institutionalized political participation to institutionalized political participation by analyzing the theories and case studies, and to offer positive inspiration for the enrichment and improvement of China’s political participation system and the construction of a socialist democratic political system.