| Abstract: | Since the beginning of reform in the late 1970s, the non-governmental sector in China has burgeoned. This paper analyses its development. It begins by examining competing theories regarding the political impact of the NGO sector. Political scientists employing pluralist or civil society approaches suggest that the development of NGOs is an important force in creating pressures for democratisation. In contrast, those employing a corporatist framework seek to illuminate the mechanisms which the state can use to limit and control the political impact of NGOs. The paper also examines the advantages and disadvantages of close state involvement for the impact of NGOs on socio-economic development. It explicates the legal and regulatory framework for NGOs in China in order to illustrate the ways in which the state seeks to preempt and coopt the formation of autonomous organisations, lending support to the corporatist interpretation. The paper includes case studies of NGOs based on interviews with representatives of NGOs and regulatory organs, published documents and press reports. It places China's contemporary experience with non-governmental organisations in context by comparing it with associational life in traditional China, in developing countries in general, and in communist countries in particular. Finally, the paper analyses the significance of the economic reforms and the impending political succession for NGO development.The author is a graduate student in the Department of Political Science at the University of Michigan. This article was first drafted while she was an intern with the Ford Foundation in Beijing. Peter Geithner, Michel Oksenberg, Craig O'Neill and an anonymous reviewer made helpful comments on earlier drafts. The views expressed in the article are the author's and do not necessarily reflect those of the Ford Foundation. |
