The Rule of Law in China: If They Build It, Who Will Come?

Regents Of The University Of Michigan - Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor MI

Investigators

Abstract

The growing use of labor and employment law in China provides an excellent window on questions of legal mobilization. This project studies the legal mobilization of Chinese workers using diverse research methods in order to capture both the general state of legal knowledge, attitudes and practice among China's working population and the micro-level processes and outcomes of the labor dispute resolution system. A "knowledge, attitude, and practice" survey regarding labor law will be conducted in five Chinese cities. This survey will provide much needed information on the demographic characteristics of the legally mobilized as well as provide opportunity for cross-regional comparisons. A more focused study on the labor dispute resolution system will examine patterns of dispute resolution in three cities. This research will combine case analysis with in-depth interviewing of disputants. The project also informs debates in the United States, including the connection between legal development and democratization.