The Logic Of Local Government Dealing With Social Contention

The local government is the key party in the development of the social contention. What kind of strategies it will take and what operational logic it sticks to plays a vital role for the development of the social contention and its final results. Not only different from examining the underlying people’s contentious strategies to study the interactive mode between the local government and the social contention, but also not similar to the study of the social contention’s trend and its harness way in contemporary China through examining the state political power structure, this paper mainly analyses what independent operation space and resources the local government enjoys and what constraints and institutional dilemmas it has in the established politic power structure and political system framework. Thus what operation logic and strategies the local government will employ in the face of increasing social contention crises to resolve its governance pressures and political crisis brought about by social contention would be explored, so that to help the local government maintain their own interests and independent operation space under the dual pressure of the central government and grassroots society. And I also hope though the local government perspective to find out more deep-seated institutional roots and governance dilemmas in front of the worsening violence and frequent tendency of social contention in China.