The People’s Republic of China : sociopolitical landscape on the eve of the 18th Party congress

In this presentation, the key features of the Mao-era legacies will firstly be introduced to the public. One will highlight how these socialist institutions still contribute to define a system which has been defined by Lee Ching-Kwan as “Decentralized legal authoritarianism”. In a second section, the modalities of state-society relations in 21st century China will be presented in a dynamic way. How can one define these various modalities? How is the Party adapting its ideological system to a rapidly changing society and to socioeconomic transformation? What are the major challenges facing the Chinese government as one witnesses mounting collective mobilization and contentious politics? These are some of the questions which will be explored within this presentation.