The Village Self-Government Movement: Elections,Democracy,the Party,and Anticorruption—Developments in Guangdong

Abstract

This article analyzes recent developments in the village self-government movement (democratic elections, democratic decision making, democratic management, and democratic supervision) in Guangdong in 2002 as a lens through which to view the village self-government movement throughout China. In reviewing changes in both election practices and the anticorruption components of such elections, the article concludes that the new discourse and mechanisms of village self-government, including nomination, voting, and recall procedures, include significant, although gradual and sometimes contradictory, progress towards participatory elections and, to a lesser extent, popular democracy while tending to empower new groups in local politics with the potential to challenge elements of the existing power structure. In addition, the anticorruption elements of this movement, particularly new transparency and accounting practices, incorporate numerous elements of both the Chinese leadership and internal anticorruption experts' prescriptions for combating corruption, although other factors in these processes may limit their effectiveness. However, any meaningful evaluation of the success of this movement can only occur in the context of recognition of the significant changes in both China's domestic social formation and increasing globalization, neoliberalism, and corporatization worldwide, both of which have significant effects on the village self-government movement.