New Mentalities of Government in China [Hardcover]

China continues to transform apace, flowing from the forces of deregulation, privatization and globalization unleashed by economic reforms which began in late 1978. The dramatic scope of economic change in China is often counterposed to the apparent lack of political change as demonstrated by continued Chinese Communist Party (CCP) rule. However, the ongoing dominance of the CCP belies the fact that much has also changed in relation to practices of government, including how authorities and citizens interact in the management of daily life.

New Mentalities of Government in Chinaexamines how the privatization and professionalization of public service provision is transforming the nature of government and everyday life in the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). The book addresses key theoretical questions on the nature of government in China and documents the emergence of a range of new mentalities of government in China. Its chapters focus on areas such as clinical trials, conceptualizing government, consumer activity, elite philanthropy, lifestyle and beauty advice, public health, social work, volunteering; and urban and rural planning.

Offering a topical examination of shifting modes of governance in contemporary China, this book will appeal to scholars in the fields of anthropology, history, politics and sociology.

1. New Mentalities of Government in China: An Introduction David Bray and Elaine Jeffreys2. Governmentality Studies and China: Towards A Chinese Governmentality Michael Dutton and Barry Hindess 3. Governing Through Lei Feng: A Mao-Era Role Model in Reform-Era China Elaine Jeffreys and Su Xuezhong 4.Governmentality and the Urban Economy: Consumption, Excess and the Civilized City In China Carolyn Cartier 5.Rethinking And Remaking Chinas Built Environments: Spatial Planning and the Reinscription of Everyday Life