This book explores non-electoral means of public participation in contemporary



China, both as an outcome of and a key contributor to the party-state’s



efforts to improve its governing capacity.



Examining consultative meetings, public hearings, and the use of surveys



and questionnaires in Zhejiang province, on an empirical level, the study



evaluates the historical development and institutional backgrounds of these



mechanisms, as well as provides a critical assessment of their achievements



and failures. At the same time, on a theoretical level, this book contributes



to the broader scholarship on contemporary Chinese politics and political



development within one-party regimes, as well as debates about state building



and democratisation. Relying on the distinction between access to and



exercise of power, it concludes that non-electoral public participation is in



fact a function of state building. Developing a state capable of producing



effective solutions to governing challenges, it is argued, requires public participation



in the governing process.



With analysis informed by interviews with local-level policy-makers and



officials, academics, and citizens’ representatives and activists, Public Participation



and State Building in China will be a valuable research resource for



students and scholars of Chinese politics, political science, and civil society.