Higher Order Structures, Neighborhood Organization, and Social Control in Contemporary Urban China

• In Event: Institutional Anomie and Disorganization Approaches

Abstract

As Sampson argued in his 2012 Presidential Address to the American Society of Criminology and other publications, the neighborhood should not be treated as an isolated entity. Its organization and social control are embedded in “higher order structures” of the state and politics. This may be true especially in the Chinese social and political system. Neighborhood organization and social control in urban China are largely shaped by the state and politics. Specifically, neighborhood committees serve as a “link” between the state and the residents in a form of semi-public control. Their operations/functions are critical for resident well-being. The present study aims to explore how neighborhood organization and social control are embedded in those “higher order structures” in contemporary urban China during the current era of economic reform. The exploration is conducted using data collected from 2,500 households in fifty neighborhoods and the related neighborhood committees in a large city of China, 2013.

Authors

• Lening Zhang, Saint Francis University

• Steven F. Messner, University at Albany, SUNY

• Sheldon Zhang, San Diego State University