Towards a Non‐zero‐sum Interactive Framework of Spatial Politics: the Case of Centre–Province in Contemporary China

Linda Chelan Li

Political Studies, 1997, vol. 45, issue 1, 49-65

Abstract: This paper proposes an interactive, non‐zero‐sum framework to understand an important facet of spatial politics in contemporary China: the central‐provincial relationship. The ‘conventional wisdom’ of the field, it is argued, confuses the role of coercion in the exercise of power, and assumes a static, zero‐sum central‐provincial relationship. Changes are merely cyclical, and hopes for genuine changes are pinned on ad hoc factors such as the arrival of ‘enlightened’ leaders. Drawing on Parsons' insights on the concept of power, the article outlines a new approach which sees the forces of genuine changes as residing within the institutional system. It interprets the central‐provincial relationship as a non‐zero‐sum, interactive process of conflicts and compromises, whereby genuine changes to the relationship are made.

Date: 1997
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