The preparations for the 2008 Beijing Olympics can be analysed to reveal the changing nature of the state, society and market forces and their mutual interaction in the People's Republic of China (PRC). It is also useful in understanding the consensual aspect of the Chinese state. Examining how the Beijing Olympics is being organised as a spectacle is important in understanding how Chinese state power has developed and maintained its consensus vis-É-vis the society in the post-Mao period. This process of institutionalisation of state, society and market interactions in the field of sport could provide insights regarding parallel developments in other sectors as well in China today.
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