Social Policies and Ethnic Conflict in China - (Politics and Development of Contemporary China) by S Zhang & D McGhee (Paperback)

About the Book

"The Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region is one of China's most strategically important, resource-rich and largest regions but also one of the country's most troublesome, the region now being synonymous with ethnic conflict and nationalist movements. This detailed and compelling study sets out to explore how the Chinese government has governed Xinjiang in light of growing tensions in the region exploring initiatives such as the partner assistance programme to understand the extent to which attempts to reverse the deteriorating situation have been effective. Furthermore, this study also provides compelling insights into how policies vary in different regions, focusing in particular on the role played by officials in interpreting and implementing these policies within their specific locale. It shows that Communist Party strategy and policy become messy when introduced at a micro-level as local governments interpret how these policies should work within their particular region. As such, this text is invaluable to students and scholars of policy-making and implementation in China"--

Book Synopsis

This study addresses how China's policy response to problems in Xinjiang is interpreted and implemented by officials, who are both governing agents and governed subjects by interviewing Chinese officials working in both Central government and Local governments.

Review Quotes

"Shaoying Zhang and Derek McGhee should be commended for providing an innovative and rigorous analysis of the relationship between state policy and ethnic conflict in Xinjiang. In particular, their focus on the ways in which officials in Xinjiang selectively interpret and implement central government policy illuminates the importance of factoring in local agents of state power in analyses of contemporary Chinese governance" - Dr Michael Clarke, Griffith Asia Institute, Queensland, Australia

About the Author

Shaoying Zhang is Associate Professor of Sociology at Yunnan Normal University, China.

Derek McGhee is Professor of Sociology at the University of Southampton, UK.