General Theory of Village Self-Governance

Author: Zhao Xiuling
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-11-01
Features: This book provides a comprehensive description of the 25-year development of village self-governance in China, utilizing extensive research findings and literature. It introduces the historical process of the emergence and development of village self-governance while summarizing the characteristics and main challenges of different periods, as well as providing a brief overview of domestic and international research. To make this book beneficial to the study of village self-governance, the following design and concept are proposed: First, based on the extensive use of primary materials on village self-governance, the book comprehensively presents the 20-year development trajectory of village self-governance in China, striving to capture its authenticity, historical context, unity, complexity, and patterns, thereby taking readers back to the original historical environment. Second, it examines the development process of Chinese village self-governance dynamically, vividly, and from multiple perspectives, rather than simply compiling document materials. This requires dialectical and dynamic interpretations of important documents, regulations, events, and figures that emerged during the process of village self-governance, as well as the complex relationships between different levels of village self-governance. Village self-governance is not the result of one party's effort but rather the outcome of mutual interaction, promotion, and even negotiation and compromise among multiple parties. Therefore, this book emphasizes problem awareness, interactive relationships, and structural analysis, which are key features. Third, while drawing on Western theories of self-governance, the book avoids blindly copying or rigidly applying them, instead integrating them with China's specific conditions to address practical Chinese issues. Although the writing of this book has made efforts to innovate and explore in some aspects, it clearly relies on many labor achievements, including the accumulated experience of practitioners of village self-governance over the past 20 years and previous theoretical explorations in academia.