Many communist regimes have presided over episodes of rapid industrial development, often coupled by the establishment of a planned economic system wherein the state replaces the market as the primary provider of essential resources and services. We argue that life experience under a communist-style industrial workplace fosters a distinct and enduring set of norms and habits that shape how citizens engage with political authorities. Leveraging exogenous variations created by China’s Third Front (TF) campaign, a massive industrial relocation project that moved large-scale industrial-administrative complexes into rural and interior areas between the 1960s–1970s, we show that residents from former TF areas today are more active in contacting the government about personal and community affairs, and hold stronger preferences for state-sponsored participation channels over more contentious ones. Additional analyses suggest that these behavioral patterns are less a strategic response to current local conditions than a result of early socialization. These findings highlight important subnational variations in national communist experiences and underscore the persistent influence of early communist institutions on citizen-government interactions in late communist societies.
AcemogluD.RobinsonJ. A. (2012). Why nations fail: The origins of power, prosperity, and poverty. Currency.
2.
AlesinaA.Fuchs-SchündelnN. (2007). Good-bye lenin (or not?): The E_ect of communism on people’s preferences. The American Economic Review, 97(4), 1507–1528.
3.
AndreasJ. (2019). Disenfranchised: The rise and fall of industrial citizenship in China. Oxford University Press.
4.
BaranyZ.VolgyesI. (Eds.) (1995). The legacies of communism in eastern Europe. Johns Hopkins University.
5.
BarnesS. H. (2006). The changing political participation of postcommunist citizens. International Journal of Sociology, 36(2), 76–98. https://doi.org/10.2753/ijs0020-7659360203
6.
BjorklundE. M. (1986). The danwei: Socio-spatial characteristics of work units in China’s urban society. Economic Geography, 62(1), 19–29. https://doi.org/10.2307/143493
7.
BrayD. (2005). Social space and governance in urban China: The danwei system from origins to reform. Stanford University Press.
8.
CarrE. H.DaviesR. W. (1969). History of Soviet Russia the foundations of a planned economy, 1926-29 (p. 468). Macmillan.
9.
ChenC. (2018). Toleration: Group governance in a Chinese third line enterprise. Springer.
10.
ChenJ.PanJ.XuY. (2016). Sources of authoritarian responsiveness: A field experiment in China. American Journal of Political Science, 60(2), 383–400. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajps.12207
11.
ChenX. (2011). Social protest and contentious authoritarianism in China. Cambridge University Press.
12.
ChenY.FanZ.GuX.ZhouL. A. (2020). Arrival of young talent: The send-down movement and rural education in China. The American Economic Review, 110(11), 3393–3430. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.20191414
13.
DinasE. (2013). Opening “openness to change”: Political events and the increased sensitivity of young adults. Political Research Quarterly, 66(4), 868–882. https://doi.org/10.1177/1065912913475874
14.
DistelhorstG.HouY. (2017). Constituency service under nondemocratic rule: Evidence from China. The Journal of Politics, 79(3), 1024–1040. https://doi.org/10.1086/690948
15.
EkiertG.HansonS. E. (Eds.), (2006). Capitalism and democracy in central and eastern Europe. Cambridge University Press.
16.
EmmeneggerP.PaulM.DominikS. (2017). O_ to a bad start: Unemployment and political interest during early adulthood. The Journal of Politics, 79(1), 315–328.
17.
EpperlyB. (2019). The myth of the post-communist citizen: Communist legacies and political trust. Social Science History, 43(02), 297–317. https://doi.org/10.1017/ssh.2019.5
18.
FanJ.ZouB. (2021). Industrialization from scratch: The “Construction of Third Front” and local economic development in China’s hinterland. Journal of Development Economics, 152. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2021.102698
19.
FriedrichC. J.BrzezinskiZ. K. (1965). Totalitarian dictatorship and autocracy. Harvard University Press.
20.
GerberA. S.GreenD. P.ShacharR. (2003). Voting may be habit-forming: Evidence from a randomized field experiment. American Journal of Political Science, 47(3), 540–550. https://doi.org/10.2307/3186114
21.
GreenD. P.ShacharR. (2000). Habit formation and political behaviour: Evidence of consuetude in voter turnout. British Journal of Political Science, 30(4), 561–573. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0007123400000247
22.
Grzymala-BusseA. M. (2002). Redeeming the communist past. Cambridge University Press.
23.
HarveyD. (2007). A brief history of neoliberalism. Oxford University Press.
24.
HeilmannS.PerryE. J. (2020). Mao’s invisible hand: The political foundations of adaptive governance in China. Harvard University Press.
25.
HirschmanA. O.RothschildM. (1973). The changing tolerance for income inequality in the course of economic development. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 87(4), 544–566. https://doi.org/10.2307/1882024
26.
HowardM. M. (2003). The weakness of civil society in post-communist Europe. Cambridge University Press.
27.
HurstW. (2009). The Chinese worker after socialism. Cambridge University Press.
28.
JiangJ.MengT.ZhangQ. (2019). From Internet to social safety net: The policy consequences of online participation in China. Governance, 32(3), 531–546. https://doi.org/10.1111/gove.12391
29.
JiangJ.ZengY. (2020). Countering capture: Elite networks and government responsiveness in China’s land market reform. The Journal of Politics, 82(1), 13–28. https://doi.org/10.1086/705595
30.
JiangX. (Ed.), (2012).Looking back on the youthful years: Stories of third Front builders 青春的回眸——三线建设者的奋斗故事. University of Electronic Science / Technology Press 电子科技大学出版社.
31.
JowittK. (1992). New world disorder: The leninist extinction. University of California Press.
32.
KennedyJ. J.ShiY. (2015). Rule by virtue, the mass line model and cadre-mass relations. In HuaS. (Ed.) East asian development model: Twenty-first century perspectives. Routledge.
33.
KharkhordinO. (1999). The collective and the individual in Russia. University of California Press.
34.
KonaiJ. (1986). The soft budget constraint. Kyklos, 39(1), 3–30.
35.
KopsteinJRBernhardM. (2014). Post-communism, the civilizing process, and the mixed impact of leninist violence. East European Politics & Societies: And Cultures, 29(2), 379–390. https://doi.org/10.1177/0888325414550364
36.
KornaiJ. (1992). The socialist system: The political economy of communism: The political economy of communism. Princeton University Press.
37.
KostelkaF. (2014). The state of political participation in post-communist democracies: Low but surprisingly little biased citizen engagement. Europe-Asia Studies, 66(6), 945–968. https://doi.org/10.1080/09668136.2014.905386
38.
LeeC. K. (2007). Against the law: Labor protests in China’s rustbelt and sunbelt. Univ of California Press.
39.
LiH. (2016). Everyday power relations in state firms in socialist China: A reexamination. Modern China, 43(3), 288–321. https://doi.org/10.1177/0097700416671878
40.
LinzJ. (2000). Totalitarian and authoritarian regimes: Lynne Rienner Publishers.
41.
LuF. (1989). The work unit: A specialform of social organization 单位:一种特殊的社会组织形式 (pp. 71–88). Chinese Social Science中国社会科学1.
42.
LuF. (1993). The origins and formation of the unit (“Danwei”) system. Chinese Sociology and Anthropology, 25(3), 7–92.
43.
LüX. (1997) Minor public economy: The revolutionary origins of the danwei. In LüX.PerryE. J., (Eds.) Danwei: The changing Chinese workplace in historical and comparative perspective, pp. 21–41. M.E. Sharpe.
44.
LüX.PerryE. J. (1997). Introduction: The changing ChineseWorkplace in historical and comparative perspective. In LvX.PerryE. J. (Eds.) Danwei: The changing Chinese workplace in historical and comparative perspective, pp. 3–17. ME Sharpe Inc.
45.
MarbachM. (2023). Causal E_ects, migration, and legacy studies. American Journal of Political Science.
46.
MeyskensC. F. (2020). Mao’s third front: The militarization of Cold war China. Cambridge University Press.
47.
MishlerW.RoseR. (1997). Trust, distrust and skepticism: Popular evaluations of civil and political institutions in post-communist societies. The Journal of Politics, 59(2), 418–451. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0022381600053512
48.
MurphyK. (2004). Revolution and counterrevolution: Class struggle in a Moscow metal factory. (vol. 234). Berghahn Books. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781785334894
49.
MushabenJ. M. (1999). Collective memory divided and reunited: Mothers, daughters and the fascist experience in Germany. History & Memory, 11(1), 7–40. https://doi.org/10.2979/his.1999.11.1.7
50.
NaughtonB. (1988). The third Front: Defence industrialization in the Chinese interior. The China Quarterly, 115(115), 351–386. https://doi.org/10.1017/s030574100002748x
51.
NaughtonB. (1997). Danwei: The economic foundation of a unique institution. In LüX.PerryE. J. (Eds.) Danwei: The changing Chinese workplace in historical and comparative perspective. pp. 114–141. M.E. Sharpe.
52.
NoveA. (1961). The Soviet economy: An introduction. Praeger.
53.
O’brienK. J.LiL. (2006). Rightful resistance in rural China. Cambridge University Press.
54.
OlsonM. (1993). Dictatorship, democracy, and development. American Political Science Review, 87(3), 567–576. https://doi.org/10.2307/2938736
55.
PerryE. J. (2023). Blurring the boundaries of governance:China’s work teams in comparative perspective. In Conference on varieties of communism. Working Paper.
56.
PerryE. J. (1997). From native place to workplace: Labor origins and outcomes of China’s danwei system. In LüX.PerryE. J. (Eds.) Danwei: The changing Chinese workplace in historical and comparative perspective. pp. 142–166. M.E. Sharpe.
Pop-ElechesG.TuckerJ. A. (2011). Communism’s shadow: Postcommunist legacies, values, and behavior. Comparative Politics, 43(4), 379–408. https://doi.org/10.5129/001041511796301588
59.
Pop-ElechesG.TuckerJ. A. (2013). Associated with the past? Communist legacies and civic participation in post-communist countries. East European Politics & Societies, 27(1), 45–68. https://doi.org/10.1177/0888325412465087
Pop-ElechesG.TuckerJ. A. (2020). Communist legacies and left-authoritarianism. Comparative Political Studies, 53(12), 1861–1889. https://doi.org/10.1177/0010414019879954
62.
QianY.RolandG.XuC. (2006). Coordination and experimentation in M-form and U-form organizations. Journal of Political Economy, 114(2), 366–402. https://doi.org/10.1086/501170
63.
RoseR. (2009). Understanding post-communist transformation: A bottom-up approach. Routledge.
64.
RosenfeldB. (2020). The autocratic middle class. Princeton University Press.
65.
SchwartzB. (1951). Chinese communism and the rise of Mao. Harvard University Press.
66.
SeldenM. (1995). China in revolution: The yenan way revisited. ME Sharpe.
ShenM.YangM.YanJ. (2015). Attitudes towards citizenship in China–2008. Peking University.
69.
ShenM.YangM.YanJ. (2016). Attitudes towards citizenship in China–2009. Peking University Open Research Data Platform.
70.
ShiT. (1997). Political participation in beijing. Harvard University Press.
71.
ShueV. (1990). The reach of the state: Sketches of the Chinese body politic. Stanford University Press.
72.
SiegelbaumL. H.SunyR. G. (Eds.) (1994). Making workers Soviet. Cornell University Press.
73.
SimpserA.SlaterD.WittenbergJ. (2018). Dead but not gone: Contemporary legacies of communism, imperialism, and authoritarianism. Annual Review of Political Science, 21(1), 419–439. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-polisci-062615-020900
74.
SlaterD.FennerS. (2011). State power and staying power: Infrastructural mechanisms and authoritarian durability. Journal of International Airs, 65(1), 15–29.
75.
StrausK. M. (1998). Factory and community in stalin’s Russia the making of an industrial working class. University of Pittsburgh Press.
76.
SuZ.MengT. (2016). Selective responsiveness: Online public demands and government responsiveness in authoritarian China. Social Science Research, 59(September), 52–67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2016.04.017
77.
SztompkaP. (1993). Civilizational incompetence: The trap of post-communist societies. Zeitschrift für Soziologie, 22(2), 85–95. https://doi.org/10.1515/zfsoz-1993-0201
78.
TangW. (2016). Populist authoritarianism: Chinese political culture and regime sustainability. Oxford University Press.
79.
The Editorial Office. (1993). Third Front construction in Gansu.
80.
“Third Front Construction” Writing Group. (1991). Third front construction. Internal Government Reference.
81.
TworzeckiH. (2008). A Disa_ected new democracy? Identities, institutions and civic engagement in post-communist Poland. Communist and Post-Communist Studies, 41(1), 47–62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.postcomstud.2007.12.006
82.
UngerJ.ChanA. (2004). The internal politics of an urban Chinese work community: A case study of employee influence on decision-making at a state-owned factory. The China Journal, 52(July), 1–24. https://doi.org/10.2307/4127882
83.
VanhuysseP. (2006). Divide and pacify: Strategic social policies and political protests in postcommunist democracies. Central European University Press.
84.
WalderA. G. (1986). Communist neo-traditionalism: Work and authority in Chinese industry. Univ of California Press.
85.
WalderA. G. (2014). Rebellion and repression in China, 1966–1971. Social Science History, 38(3–4), 513–539. https://doi.org/10.1017/ssh.2015.23
86.
WangY. (2019). The political legacy of violence during China’s cultural revolution. British Journal of Political Science, 51(2), 463–487. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0007123419000255
87.
WhiteS.McallisterI. (2004). Dimensions of disengagement in post-communist Russia. Journal of Communist Studies and Transition Politics, 20(1), 81–97. https://doi.org/10.1080/13523270410001687118
88.
WhitefieldS.EvansG. R. (1994). The Russian election of 1993: Public opinion and the transition experience. Post-Soviet Airs, 10(1), 38–60. https://doi.org/10.1080/1060586X.1994.10641377
89.
WomackB. (1991). An exchange of views about basic Chinese social organization review essay: Transfigured community: Neo-traditionalism and work unit socialism in China. The China Quarterly, 126(June), 313–332. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0305741000005221
XuY. (2020). Exploring new frontiers in contemporary Chinese history studies: A case study of third Front construction. Social Sciences in China, 41(2), 164–182.
92.
XuJ.JiangJ.MengT. (2025). “Replication Data for: New Socialist Men (and Women)? Communist Industrial Workplace and Political Engagement in China”, https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/FDFPH4, Harvard Dataverse, V1.
93.
YangD. L. (1996). Calamity and reform in China: State, rural society, and institutional change since the great leap famine. Stanford University Press.
94.
YangG. (2009). The power of the Internet in China. Columbia University Press.
95.
YouZ.FengZ.YangY. (2018). Relief degree of land surface dataset of China (1km). Journal of Global Change Data & Discovery, 2(2), 151–155.
96.
ZengY.JiangJ.LiJ.GöbelC. (2023). The rise of grassroots civil society under one-party rule: The case of China’s homeowner associations. World Politics, 75(3), 608–646. https://doi.org/10.1353/wp.2023.a900714
97.
ZhangH.PanJ. (2019). Casm: A deep-learning approach for identifying collective action events with text and image data from social media. Sociological Methodology, 49(1), 1–57. https://doi.org/10.1177/0081175019860244
98.
ZhangY. (Ed.) (2019). The third Front participants from multiple Perspectives多维视野中的三线建设亲历者. Shanghai University Press上海大学出版社.
99.
ZhouM. (2004). The third-front construction and urban development in mainland China from 1964 to 1980 三线建设与中国内地城市发展(1964-1980年) (pp. 142–151). Researches in Chinese Economic History中国经济史研究1.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
