Greenpeace in China: the Emergence of Autonomous Civil Society in Authoritarian Regimes

Middlebury College's Jessica Teets will be speaking at Harvard University on the Emergence of Autonomous Civil Society in Authoritarian Regimes.

Why would an authoritarian state like China allow autonomous civil society groups to develop?  Professor Teets examines the rapid emergence of civil society in China and contends that after two decades of experience with these groups, local officials have learned the governance benefits offered by civil society. Gradually their relationship with these groups has transformed from corporatism to “consultative authoritarianism.”  This new state-society model simultaneously encourages the development of autonomous civil society and the creation of more indirect tools of state control. The model encourages more public participation in policy; however, it is not a process of democratization in China but rather better governance under authoritarianism.

Jessica C. Teets is assistant professor in the Political Science Department at Middlebury College, Vermont.  Her research focuses on governance in authoritarian regimes, specifically the role of civil society such as nonprofits, NGOs, and associations. She is recently the author of “Post-Earthquake Relief and Reconstruction Efforts: The Emergence of Civil Society in China?” published in The China Quarterly (June 2009), and the coauthor of “Political Change, Contestation and Pluralization in China Today” in Chinese Politics: State, Society and the Market (2010).  Professor Teets was recently selected to participate in the National Committee on United States-China Relations’ Public Intellectuals Program.