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China After Reforms in 1978 and Developmental State: A Case Study of the Chinese Bureaucracy Since 1978

Say, Sivutha LU (2019) SIMV29 20191
Master of Science in Development Studies
Graduate School
Department of Political Science
Abstract (Swedish)
The purpose of this thesis is to critically examine whether China following the Third Plenary Session in December 1978 could be considered a developmental state with a focus on public bureaucracy. The research uses single case study research as its methodological approach, coupled with content analysis on secondary sources, to examine whether reforms after 1978 unfolded in a way that had tailored its bureaucracy to correspond to bureaucratic qualities of either developmental states, neopatrimonial states, or fragmented multiclass states. This study finds that the Chinese bureaucracy after 1978 appears to feature both Weberian and pre-modern bureaucracies, the fusion of which markedly succeeded in building strong rudiments for China’s... (More)
The purpose of this thesis is to critically examine whether China following the Third Plenary Session in December 1978 could be considered a developmental state with a focus on public bureaucracy. The research uses single case study research as its methodological approach, coupled with content analysis on secondary sources, to examine whether reforms after 1978 unfolded in a way that had tailored its bureaucracy to correspond to bureaucratic qualities of either developmental states, neopatrimonial states, or fragmented multiclass states. This study finds that the Chinese bureaucracy after 1978 appears to feature both Weberian and pre-modern bureaucracies, the fusion of which markedly succeeded in building strong rudiments for China’s remarkable growth between 9 to 10 percent from the 1980s to 2000s. Those rudiments include a prompt delivery of public goods, supportive bureaucratic services for enterprises, encouraging the growth of village industrial enterprises and empowering local enterprises with special treatments. The case of China informs three-ideal type state scholars to consider two further aspects on bureaucracy. First, powerful political actors who harness corruption or patronage system to coordinate their growth plans should be stressed. Second, inquiry into which types of corruption retard growth and which don’t should also be highlighted. In a nutshell, it is feasible to claim that by a standard of bureaucracy China might straddle somewhere in between developmental states and fragmented multiclass states on the continuum of political efficacy in promoting growth of the three-ideal type states. (Less)
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author
Say, Sivutha LU
supervisor
organization
course
SIMV29 20191
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
developmental states, neopatrimonial states, fragmented multiclass states, bureaucracy
language
English
id
8989725
date added to LUP
2019-08-23 13:55:17
date last changed
2019-08-23 13:55:17
@misc{8989725,
  abstract     = {{The purpose of this thesis is to critically examine whether China following the Third Plenary Session in December 1978 could be considered a developmental state with a focus on public bureaucracy. The research uses single case study research as its methodological approach, coupled with content analysis on secondary sources, to examine whether reforms after 1978 unfolded in a way that had tailored its bureaucracy to correspond to bureaucratic qualities of either developmental states, neopatrimonial states, or fragmented multiclass states. This study finds that the Chinese bureaucracy after 1978 appears to feature both Weberian and pre-modern bureaucracies, the fusion of which markedly succeeded in building strong rudiments for China’s remarkable growth between 9 to 10 percent from the 1980s to 2000s. Those rudiments include a prompt delivery of public goods, supportive bureaucratic services for enterprises, encouraging the growth of village industrial enterprises and empowering local enterprises with special treatments. The case of China informs three-ideal type state scholars to consider two further aspects on bureaucracy. First, powerful political actors who harness corruption or patronage system to coordinate their growth plans should be stressed. Second, inquiry into which types of corruption retard growth and which don’t should also be highlighted. In a nutshell, it is feasible to claim that by a standard of bureaucracy China might straddle somewhere in between developmental states and fragmented multiclass states on the continuum of political efficacy in promoting growth of the three-ideal type states.}},
  author       = {{Say, Sivutha}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{China After Reforms in 1978 and Developmental State: A Case Study of the Chinese Bureaucracy Since 1978}},
  year         = {{2019}},
}