Emerging from Crisis: New Developments in Civil Society and Civic Action in China

Session Submission Type: Panel

Abstract

Chinese society is emerging from the crisis of Covid and a long decade of increased Party and state control over civic action.

This panel presents new research on developments in civil society and civic action in China in this new era, including work on philanthropy, volunteerism and the altruistic citizen in China; volunteering and the propaganda state in China;the revival of family philanthropy in China; and re-examining GONGOs (government-organized NGOs) in China and in comparative perspective.

These papers share a context in China -- that of the strong Party-state, and the adaptations of civil society organizations and less organized civic action to that strong Party-state. And yet they also show the resilience of citizen action, organized and unorganized, in the face of growing Party-state power.

These papers also share a regulatory context related to the strong Party-state -- a stronger framework for regulatory constraint on the nonprofit sector. And finally these papers indicate the complexities of doing research on civil society and civic action in China in a restrictive time when China was emerging from Covid. While research remains possible, and some of this work is based on research directly in China, the research context in China is more complicated than it was ten years ago.

References

Hasmath, R., Hildebrandt, T. and Hsu, J.Y., 2019. Conceptualizing government-organized non-governmental organizations. Journal of civil society, 15(3), pp.267-284.
Hu, Ming, Qianjin Zhang, and Mark Sidel. "Building State-controlled Volunteering in China." The China Quarterly (2023): 1-17.
Sidel, Mark. "The future of civil society research in China, Hong Kong and Vietnam." In A Research Agenda for Civil Society, pp. 283-292. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2022.

Sub Unit

• The role and position of the Third Sector during crises and conflicts

Moderator

• Mark Sidel, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Individual Presentations

• Explaining Civic Action and Inaction: Philanthropy, Volunteerism and the Altruistic Citizen - Reza Hasmath, University of Alberta; Timothy Hildebrandt, London School of Economics

• Volunteering for the Propaganda State: Unveiling the New Era Civilization Practice Campaign in Xi’s China - Ming Hu, Macau University of Science and Technology

• The Revival of Family Philanthropy in China: A Fleeting Phenomenon or a Long-Term Trend? - Weinan Wang, Centre for Philanthropy, University of Kent

• Re-examining GONGOs: China and Beyond - Fengshi Wu, University of New South Wales