Contemporary Chinese Politics

Description

Contemporary Chinese Politics: Sources, Methods, and Field Strategies considers how new and diverse sources and methods are changing the study of Chinese politics. Contributors spanning three generations in China studies place their distinct qualitative and quantitative methodological approaches in the framework of the discipline and point to challenges or opportunities (or both) of adapting new sources and methods to the study of contemporary China. How can we more effectively use new sources and methods of data collection? How can we better integrate the study of Chinese politics into the discipline of political science, to the betterment of both? How can we more appropriately manage the logistical and ethical problems of doing political research in the challenging Chinese environment? In addressing these questions, this comprehensive methodological survey will be of immense interest to graduate students heading into the field for the first time and experienced scholars looking to keep abreast of the state of the art in the study of Chinese politics. Half-title Title Copyright Contents Tables and Figures Contributors Abbreviations Introduction An Abundance of Riches? Dealing with Data Comparative Politics and Comparing China Political Research in Challenging Environments Road Map Part I: Sources 1 State-Generated Data and Contentious Politics in China Two Advantages Where and What to Look For? The State, Information, and Petitioning Data The Petitioning System and Its Adaptations Implications and Suggestions 2 Why Archives? Archival Research: Pitfalls and Opportunities What’s in There Anyway? Minutes of Meetings Investigation Reports Work Reports Policy Documents Patriotism, in Everyday Practice Military Dependents (军属) Conclusion 3 The Central Committee, Past and Present: A Method of Quantifying Elite Biographies Elite Studies in Authoritarian Regimes The Central Committee Database Implementing Coding Problems and Solutions Annual Indicators Age Structure of CC Members over Time Education of CC Members Factional Influence The Next Step 4 Experimental Methods and Psychological Measures in the Study of Chinese Foreign Policy “Face” and Foreign Policy: An Experiment Design Independent Variables Dependent Measures Participants and Method Selected Results Discussion Structures and Consequences of Chinese National Identity: Psychological Measures and Methods Participants and Procedures Measures Results: Structures of Chinese and American National Identity Results: Consequences of Chinese Patriotism and Nationalism Discussion Conclusion: Opportunities and Challenges 5 Internet Resources and the Study of Chinese Foreign Relations: Can Cyberspace Shed New Light on China’s Approach to the World? Part One: Mapping China’s Foreign Relations–Related Cyberspace Chinese Cybermedia Outlets and Their Coverage of International Affairs 1. People's Net 2. Xinhua Net 3. China Net 4. China Military Online Web sites of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Universities, and Research Institutes 1. Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2. Foreign Policy and International Affairs Research Institutes of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences 3. China Institute of International Studies 4. China Institute of Contemporary International Relations 5. Shanghai Institutes of International Studies 6. University Sites International Relations Professional Web Portals and Scholarly Discourse 1. IR China 2. TECN Academic Net IR-Focused Bulletin Boards and Blogs 1. Bulletin Boards 2. Blogs Part Two: Making Use of Chinese Foreign Affairs–Related Cyberspace Treating Web Pages as Windows into the MFA, Think-Tanks, and Research Institutes Using New Technologies to Track Changes in Internet-Based Collections of Print Sources Employing New Technologies to Track Changes in Cyber Terrain Conclusion 6 Information Overload?: Collecting, Managing, and Analyzing Chinese Media Content Electronic Sources of the Chinese News Media Search Engines of News Web Sites Other Electronic Sources Drawing Representative and Efficient Samples Managing and Analyzing Data Using Digital Technologies Assessing the Sensitivity of News Content by Counting Keywords Assessing the Tone of News Reporting by Counting Cross-References Content Analysis and Chinese Politics Part II: Qualitative Methods 7 The Worm’s-eye View: Using Ethnography to Illuminate Labor Politics and Institutional Change in Contemporary China The Ethnographic Eye Ethnography and Chinese Labor Politics Ethnography, Organizational Change, and Institution-Building Conclusion 8 More Than an Interview, Less Than Sedaka: Studying Subtle and Hidden Politics with Site-Intensive Methods Site-Intensive Methods When Should Researchers Use Site-Intensive Methods? How Do Site-Intensive Methods Contribute to Theory? Trade-Offs: Depth versus Breadth Site-Level Variation Up-Front Costs of Site Development The Nature of the Data Sought Optimizing Validity Conclusion 9 Cases, Questions, and Comparison in Research on Contemporary Chinese Politics What Is a Case? Why Study it? Subnational Comparison and Case Selection in Comparative Politics Using Subnational Comparison to Study Chinese Politics Looking at Laid-off Workers in Chinese Cities Regions and City Case Studies Causes of Layoffs The Utility of Subnational Comparison versus Single-City Case Studies in Explaining the Causes of Layoffs General Issues of Systematic Subnational Comparison versus Intensive Studies of Single Cases and Large-N Studies of Many Cases in China Conclusion: A Program for Taking Systematic Subnational Comparison beyond the Study of Chinese Workers Part III: Survey Methods 10 A survey of survey research on Chinese Politics: What Have We Learned? Probability Sample Surveys Regulatory Regime for Survey Research A Survey of Surveys Content and Cumulativeness An Example of Competing Perspectives Survey Research and Area Studies Conclusion Appendix 10.1: What Is Reviewed Here 11 Surveying Prospects for Political Change: Capturing Political and Economic Variation in Empirical Research in China Designing Survey Research Regional Variation Individual Variation Temporal Variation Collecting Data Empirical Examples of Regional, Individual, and Temporal Variations Competing Policy Priorities: Growth versus Equity Perceived Threats to Stability Electing Capitalists to Political Posts Conclusion 12 Using Clustered Spatial Data to Study Diffusion: The Case of Legal Institutions in China Untying Surveys from hukou Lists Data: Survey on the Institutionalization of Legal Reforms in China Spatial Sampling Technical Advances since 2004 Institutional Diffusion Testing Diffusion Hypotheses with Spatially Sampled Survey Data Community Experiences and Institutional Diffusion Multivariate Analysis: Modeling the Propensity to Go to Court Conclusion 13 Measuring Change and Stability over a Decade in the Beijing Area Study Vision and Goals Questionnaire Content Core Questions Questions Asked Infrequently Sampling Survey Implementation 14 Quantitative Research and Issues of Political Sensitivity in Rural China Overview of the Research Project The Challenges of Quantitative Research and Political Sensitivity in Rural China Strategies for Accommodating Political Sensitivity Issues in Quantitative Research Conducting “Socially Embedded” Survey Research 1. Relationships between Foreign and Chinese Researchers 2. Relationships between Researchers and Official Authorities 3. Relationships between Researchers and Interviewers 4. Relationships between Interviewers and Respondents Choosing a Mode of Interviewing: Conversational or Flexible Interviewing versus Standardized Interviewing Choosing a Mode of Interviewing: Conversational or Flexible Interviewing versus Standardized Interviewing Reflections on Conducting Individual-Level Attitudinal Surveys Additional Notes on Strategies for Dealing with Politically Sensitive Issues Conclusion Reflections on the Evolution of the China Field in Political Science The Evolution of the Field Current Issues Glossary References Index