China and the Rule of Law: Conceptions of Fairness and Justice in Times of Change

East Carolina University, Greenville NC

Investigators

Abstract

Since 1978 China has been immersed in a dramatic social and economic transition in which both wealth and inequality have increased. In addition China's legal system is experiencing unprecedented change, including the creation of new legal institutions and procedures. Although formal mediation in court and adjudication are becoming increasingly available, many disputes in China continue to be resolved by informal mediation. This form of mediation is oriented fundamentally by principles of reciprocity with the goal to reestablish harmony and peace in the social order. Yet economic reforms after more than 30 years of collectivization have created inequalities between people. This research project examines the influence of the recently introduced rule of law in China on the beliefs and perceptions of Chinese citizens regarding notions of justice, particularly fairness, and related beliefs concerning social relationships and preferred conflict resolution strategies. The study seeks to discover how changes in the system to date have impacted two populations: rural residents as well as urban residents within Hebei province. The data will be collected in two phases. The first phase focuses on collecting narratives and statements about fairness and beliefs about the importance of relationships in the conflict management process, specifically the role of particularistic ties, called guanxi in Chinese. These descriptions will be gathered from a sample of rural and urban residents. The second phase involves the collection of systematic interviews based on instruments developed during the exploratory component of the research with a representative sample of 120 urban and 120 rural households. This will provide data about the distribution of specific opinions, attitudes, and practices regarding dispute resolutions within the larger population. Methods include social network analysis, cultural consensus analysis, and linear modeling approaches. The broader impact of this project will be the increased availability of empirically derived insights that can aid in China's effort to incorporate elements of the rule of law in a rapidly changing economic environment. More information on the attitudes and expectations regarding legal reforms among the general public is needed given the growing number of challenges to maintain social order that the Chinese government had to face in recent years. Furthermore, this research project will build bridges in the international arena between the United States and China in the difficult to negotiate terrain of collaborative fieldwork. Collaborative research can strengthen continuing cooperation between scholars in the United States and China, especially in the field of cognitive anthropology and social network analysis. The training of graduate students in China and building of trans-pacific ties is likely to provide benefits in future years that may result in further opportunities for knowledge transfer.