Shades of Authoritarianism and State-Labour Relations in China

Howell, Jude; Pringle, Tim

Abstract

Attempts to analyse authoritarianism in China tend towards a static focus on the state that is homogeneous across time. We argue for a more nuanced approach that captures the dynamism and contours of state–civil society relations, and state–labour relations, in particular, in authoritarian states. Taking state–labour relations as a bellweather, we conceptualize ‘shades of authoritarianism’ as a framework for better understanding the complexities and evolution of state–society relations in authoritarian states. We illustrate this through the case of China, distinguishing different shades of authoritarianism in the Hu‐Wen era (2002–2012) and in the current regime of Xi Jinping

Citation

Howell, J., & Pringle, T. (2019). Shades of Authoritarianism and State-Labour Relations in China. British Journal of Industrial Relations, 57(2), 223-246. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjir.12436

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Sep 1, 2018
• Online Publication Date: Oct 9, 2018
• Publication Date: Jun 1, 2019
• Deposit Date: Oct 22, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 22, 2018
• Journal: British Journal of Industrial Relations
• Print ISSN: 0007-1080
• Electronic ISSN: 1467-8543
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 57
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 223-246
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/bjir.12436
• Related Public URLs: https://doi.org/10.1111/bjir.12436