Social accountability under authoritarianism: Public supervision of local governments in China

Abstract

The uneven implementation of innovations in social accountability across China remains an empirical puzzle. Most existing research focuses on the procedural design of participatory mechanisms but does not discuss how they came about in the first place. Drawing on fieldwork data from several sites that experiment with the public supervision of local governments, this article examines the contextual factors that affect the emergence of social accountability innovations in China. This article argues that for an innovation in social accountability to emerge successfully, initiatives between the local state and citizens must be aligned. Three factors are found to be crucial: (1) social momentum for accountability; (2) the presence of backers at the elite level; and (3) an authentic opening for mobilization. The empirical findings reported here have important implications for the study of social accountability innovation in China and for participatory reforms more generally.