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Becoming a Good Citizen for a Better Life: Why Does the Middle Class Prefer Negotiation over Rightful Resistance in Shanghai?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 May 2018

YIHAN XIONG
YIHAN XIONG*
Affiliation:
Associate Professor at the School of International Relations and Public Affairs (SIRPA), Fudan University, Shanghai, Chinaxiongyihan@fudan.edu.cn
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Abstract

‘Rightful resistance’ has become a mainstream theoretical framework for understanding social protests in contemporary China. However, the middle class in Shanghai is more inclined to protect its rights through ‘loyal appealing’ than rightful resistance. The middle class has had to express its loyalty and its ‘voice’ at the same time to minimize its political risk. Rightful resistance and ‘loyal appealing’ differ in several respects. First, rightful resistance professes loyalty only to the central government, whereas loyal appealing professes loyalty to the local government. Second, rightful resistance considers the local government an object to confront, whereas loyal appealing considers it a potential ally. Finally, activists who engage in rightful resistance use central government policies as their weapon, whereas activists who engage in loyal appealing use the local government's political performance as a bargaining chip. However, the middle class has not completely relinquished its right to rightful resistance; instead, rightful resistance is a backup to ensure the effectiveness of loyal appealing.

Type
Research Article
Information
Japanese Journal of Political Science , Volume 19 , Issue 2 , June 2018 , pp. 313 - 331
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

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