Rightful but Unrewarded: A Hierarchy of Legitimation in Everyday Authoritarian Governance

• In Event: Contentious Politics and Civil Society in Eurasia

Brief Overview

Citizen appeals emphasizing legal rights, not the state's moral or paternalistic obligations, win greatest government assistance on China's official complaints platform. This disparity suggests a hierarchy of legitimation in everyday governance.

Authors

• Matt DeButts, Stanford University

• Tongtong Zhang, American University