Participatory community organizing revisited: political involvement and social development in two post-socialist villages in north China

Abstract

The paper, based on seven months of intensive ethnographic fieldwork in two neighbouring villages in north China, describes a more complicated relationship between members' political involvement and community social development than is generally perceived in literature. The intriguing mechanisms and contents of political participation presented call for a close examination of grassroots political economy, local authority, democratic institutions, and community organizing in the specific social contexts of post-socialist rural China under reforms. The study argues that a context-sensitive understanding of participatory democracy and community development is necessary for the success of macro social work practices, and therefore needs to be built into the curriculum of community organizing and international social work and addressed in social work professional training.

Keywords:

• participatory community organizing
• social development
• context sensitive
• democracy
• rural China

Notes

1. Open-sea elections (Haixuan): In an open-sea election, any person or group at the mass assembly held before the election can nominate a candidate, and all nominated candidates have the same opportunity to compete for the position.

2. Water in the area contains excessive fluorine and is harmful to the dental health of human beings even when it is boiled. It needs to be purified before drinking or being used for cooking.

3. In rural China, women are largely excluded from talking about things outside the household, politics in particular. Consequently, male interviewees constitute the majority of the sample.

4. Pseudonyms are used throughout the text to ensure anonymity.