On the shifting spatial logics of socioeconomic regulation in post-1949 China
This paper argues that new rounds of socioeconomic reforms in post-1949 China, each with their distinct geographical expressions, constitute a complex palimpsest rather than a straightforward process of historical succession. Drawing on a review of extensive empirical evidence, the paper complicates...
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| Format: | Article |
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Taylor & Francis
2016
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/30713/ |
| _version_ | 1848794042251345920 |
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| author | Lim, Kean Fan |
| author_facet | Lim, Kean Fan |
| author_sort | Lim, Kean Fan |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | This paper argues that new rounds of socioeconomic reforms in post-1949 China, each with their distinct geographical expressions, constitute a complex palimpsest rather than a straightforward process of historical succession. Drawing on a review of extensive empirical evidence, the paper complicates two dichotomous portrayals of socioeconomic ‘transition’ in China, namely centralization and egalitarianism (the Mao era) and decentralization and uneven development (the post- Mao era). It demonstrates these binaries cannot adequately explain the post-Mao economic 'miracle' when decentralized governance and uneven development also characterized the Mao era. The paper concludes that decentralized governance and uneven development are not antithetical to the quest for perpetual CPC rule; just as the Mao administration strategically blended centralizing mechanisms with instituted uneven development to consolidate its power, the post-Mao regimes are repurposing Mao-era regulatory techniques to achieve the same objective. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:09:54Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-30713 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:09:54Z |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-307132020-05-04T17:32:32Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/30713/ On the shifting spatial logics of socioeconomic regulation in post-1949 China Lim, Kean Fan This paper argues that new rounds of socioeconomic reforms in post-1949 China, each with their distinct geographical expressions, constitute a complex palimpsest rather than a straightforward process of historical succession. Drawing on a review of extensive empirical evidence, the paper complicates two dichotomous portrayals of socioeconomic ‘transition’ in China, namely centralization and egalitarianism (the Mao era) and decentralization and uneven development (the post- Mao era). It demonstrates these binaries cannot adequately explain the post-Mao economic 'miracle' when decentralized governance and uneven development also characterized the Mao era. The paper concludes that decentralized governance and uneven development are not antithetical to the quest for perpetual CPC rule; just as the Mao administration strategically blended centralizing mechanisms with instituted uneven development to consolidate its power, the post-Mao regimes are repurposing Mao-era regulatory techniques to achieve the same objective. Taylor & Francis 2016-01-12 Article PeerReviewed Lim, Kean Fan (2016) On the shifting spatial logics of socioeconomic regulation in post-1949 China. Territory, Politics, Governance, 5 (1). pp. 65-91. ISSN 2162-268X China; Regulation; Socioeconomic transition; Uneven development; Decentralization; Centralization http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21622671.2015.1099466 doi:10.1080/21622671.2015.1099466 doi:10.1080/21622671.2015.1099466 |
| spellingShingle | China; Regulation; Socioeconomic transition; Uneven development; Decentralization; Centralization Lim, Kean Fan On the shifting spatial logics of socioeconomic regulation in post-1949 China |
| title | On the shifting spatial logics of socioeconomic regulation in post-1949 China |
| title_full | On the shifting spatial logics of socioeconomic regulation in post-1949 China |
| title_fullStr | On the shifting spatial logics of socioeconomic regulation in post-1949 China |
| title_full_unstemmed | On the shifting spatial logics of socioeconomic regulation in post-1949 China |
| title_short | On the shifting spatial logics of socioeconomic regulation in post-1949 China |
| title_sort | on the shifting spatial logics of socioeconomic regulation in post-1949 china |
| topic | China; Regulation; Socioeconomic transition; Uneven development; Decentralization; Centralization |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/30713/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/30713/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/30713/ |