Focal Moments and Protests in Autocracies: How Pro-democracy Anniversaries Shape Dissent in China

2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (10) ◽  
pp. 1796-1827
Author(s):  
Erin Baggott Carter ◽  
Brett L. Carter
Keyword(s):  
Collective Action ◽  
Focal Points ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Tacit Coordination ◽  
The Government

Social scientists have long observed that focal points enable citizens to coordinate collective action. For antiregime protests in autocracies, however, focal points also enable repressive governments to prepare in advance. We propose a theory to explain when citizens are likely to employ focal points to organize antiregime protests. Our key insight is that tacit coordination is most critical when explicit coordination is costly. Empirically, we use our theory to identify a setting where focal points are likely to be salient and then argue that the anniversaries of failed pro-democracy movements satisfy conditions for focality. In China, we find that the anniversaries of failed pro-democracy movements occasion nearly 30 percent more protests than any other day. Protests during pro-democracy anniversaries are more likely to employ “rights-conscious” discourse, which scholars have argued is code for democratic resistance, and to be repressed by the government. We find no similar trends for other holidays.

scholarly journals Love for the Motherland

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 418-449 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Paul Goode
Keyword(s):  
Collective Action ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Public Choice ◽  
Russian Government ◽  
Authoritarian Rule ◽  
The Government ◽  
Depth Interviews

In recent years, the Russian government has promoted patriotism as a means to unify society and secure the legitimacy of Putin’s regime. This paper considers the effectiveness of this campaign by examining everyday understandings of patriotism among Russian citizens. Drawing on in-depth interviews and focus groups conducted in two regions in 2014–2015, patriotism is lived and experienced among ordinary Russians as a personal, normative, and apolitical ideal that diverges significantly from official patriotic narratives. At the same time, Russians are convinced that the majority of fellow citizens are patriotic in the ways envisioned by the government. As a result, the government’s use of patriotism is more effective in raising barriers to collective action than cultivating legitimacy. At the same time, everyday forms of patriotism encourage citizens to sacrifice public choice and to tolerate authoritarian rule.

From production to reproduction: Pension strikes and changing characteristics of workers’ collective action in China

2021 ◽  
pp. 002218562110520
Author(s):  
Elaine Sio-ieng Hui ◽  
Chris King-chi Chan
Keyword(s):  
Collective Action ◽  
Migrant Workers ◽  
Pearl River Delta ◽  
Global South ◽  
Pearl River ◽  
Labour Process ◽  
Rural Migrant ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Pearl River ◽  
New Framework

Workers in the global South are becoming increasingly sensitive to their pension rights. In recent years, rural migrant workers in China have staged a series of protests to fight for pension protection. Drawing from two in-depth case studies conducted in the Pearl River Delta, we explain why workers staged pension strikes, what these protests looked like, how the employers and the government responded, and how these protests differed from previous strikes. Building upon insights from the sociology of collective action and labour process theory, we formulate a new framework for examining labour protests. In addition to seeing workers’ collective action as defensive or offensive, this framework helps us interpret these actions in relation to the spheres of production and reproduction. It classifies pension strikes in China as defensive actions located in the sphere of reproduction, which are distinct from previous strikes that were either defensive or offensive actions situated in the sphere of production. This synthesised framework assists us in theorising that workers’ protest activities, especially in the global South, are not restricted to the traditional production sphere but can also be found in the reproduction sphere.

scholarly journals Elinor Ostrom: proving the effectiveness of collective action in management (the Noble Prize in Economics in 2009 “for research in the field of economic organization”)

2017 ◽  
pp. 127-139
Author(s):  
Oksana Shymanska
Keyword(s):  
Economic Policy ◽  
Collective Action ◽  
Public Goods ◽  
Natural Resources ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Scarce Resources ◽  
Empirically Supported ◽  
Use Of Resources ◽  
Human Organization ◽  
The Government

The article substantiates Elinor Ostrom’s contribution to the theory of collective management of property. The author outlines solutions to problems of the most optimal use of scarce natural resources and their economically relevant preservation in a long-term perspective. The research paper affirms the idea that it is not only the government who can solve the problem of efficient use of resources for public purposes. It is proved that collective decisions can be made in the management of resources, under which the latter are maintained in good conditions while being used for general public. The most accepted models (‘the tragedy of the commons’, ‘the prisoner’s dilemma’, ‘the logic of collective action’) are examined. The above- mentioned models are frequently used as tools to study cases of economic policy-making in allocating scarce resources for public purposes, and as a concept for analyzing problems of individuals who seek to achieve collective benefits. It is emphasized that there is a need for a balanced application of the above models as metaphors, which substitute solid foundations of the economic policy, since the limitations suggested for easing the analysis are accepted without reservation as permanent empirical requirements that remain as such until adjustments are made by the government. Special emphasis is placed on the importance of developing the theory of human organization based on realistic assessments of human possibilities and limitations that arise when a number of various situations related to using public goods are to be resolved. It is stressed that the empirically supported theories of human organization as an important component of study on economic policy are able to complement the solutions with estimates of the most likely effect of using many ways of organizing human activities. It is concluded that E. Ostrom’s experimental research in the field of natural resources management can be used to solve large-scale range of issues related to the production of public goods.

Collective conflict in the public sector in France

2002 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 688-700
Author(s):  
Marie-Armelle Souriac
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Collective Action ◽  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Legal Regulation ◽  
Public Enterprises ◽  
Roles And Responsibilities ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Right

The right to strike has been recognised in France, even as a right guaranteed by the Constitution, since 1946. Strikes in the public sector are subject to specific legal regulation, including requirements for minimum notice periods and, in some circumstances, minimum service requirements. This contribution examines these special legal features of public-sector strikes. It is necessary to clarify the respective roles and responsibilities of the management of public enterprises (or administrative authorities) and the government. The article also considers alternative (and new) forms of collective action and agreements. In the future there may well be even greater scope for the regulation of strikes to be covered by collective bargaining.

‘Who Wants to be a Social Engineer? A commentary on David Blunkett's Speech to the ESRC’

2000 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 74-84 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Hodgkinson
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Policy Process ◽  
Social Research ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Politics And Government ◽  
The Government ◽  
Education And Employment ◽  
Social Scientific ◽  
The Uk

This article is a response to a speech addressed to the Economic and Social Research Council which was made, in February this year, by the UK Secretary of State for Education and Employment, David Blunkett. The speech was entitled ‘Influence or Irrelevance: can social science improve government?’ . Blunkett's programme for engaging social science in the policy process is far from unique and many of the arguments have been heard before. However, the curiosity of the speech lies in the fact that the conception of social science which Blunkett advocates mirrors the approach New Labour itself has to politics and government. This raises some rather interesting difficulties for social scientists. How do we engage in a debate about the role of social scientific research in the policy process when our own conception of the discipline may be radically at odds with that of the government? Furthermore, New Labour's particular conception of the relationship between social and policy-making means that we not only have to contest their notion of what it is we do, but also challenge their conception of the policy process. We cannot ignore this engagement, even if we wanted to. The challenge is to address it and to do so, moreover, in terms which Blunkett might understand. This article is an attempt to start this process.

Sustainable Well-Being in Israel

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Menahem Yaari ◽  
Elhanan Helpman ◽  
Ariel Weiss ◽  
Nathan Sussman ◽  
Ori Heffetz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
Central Bureau ◽  
Expert Committee ◽  
Cultural Resources ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Statutory Authority ◽  
Israeli Government ◽  
The Government ◽  
National Significance ◽  
Academy Of Sciences

Well-being is a common human aspiration. Governments and states, too, seek to promote and ensure the well-being of their citizens; some even argue that this should be their overarching goal. But it is not enough for a country to flourish, and for its citizens to enjoy well-being, if the situation cannot be maintained over the long term. Well-being must be sustainable. The state needs criteria for assessing the well-being of its citizens, so that it can work to raise the well-being level. Joining many other governments around the world, the Israeli government adopted a comprehensive set of indices for measuring well-being in 2015. Since 2016, the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics has been publishing the assessment results on an annual basis. Having determined that the monitoring of well-being in Israel should employ complementary indices relating to its sustainability, the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the Bank of Israel, the Central Bureau of Statistics, and Yad Hanadiv asked the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities to establish an expert committee to draft recommendations on this issue. The Academy's assistance was sought in recognition of its statutory authority "to advise the government on activities relating to research and scientific planning of national significance." The Committee was appointed by the President of the Academy, Professor Nili Cohen, in March 2017; its members are social scientists spanning a variety of disciplines. This report presents the Committee's conclusions. Israel's ability to ensure the well-being of its citizens depends on the resources or capital stocks available to it, in particular its economic, natural, human, social, and cultural resources. At the heart of this report are a mapping of these resources, and recommendations for how to measure them.

Parades, Picketing, and Demonstrations

2021 ◽  
pp. 368-388
Author(s):  
Timothy Zick
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Collective Action ◽  
Civic Engagement ◽  
First Amendment ◽  
Freedom Of Speech ◽  
The United States ◽  
Collective Modes ◽  
Individual Autonomy ◽  
The Government

This chapter focuses on parades, pickets, and demonstrations, which are forms of civic engagement that communicate aspirations, ideas, and, quite often, dissenting opinions to fellow citizens, governments, and broader audiences. For many, gathering together in public, in these and similar forms, is a cathartic act of self-fulfilment and a demonstration of solidarity. Collective action in the form of public gatherings is an integral part of any system of communicative freedom. In the United States, in addition to the freedom of speech, rights to ‘peaceably assemble’ and to ‘petition the Government for a redress of grievances’ are explicitly provided for in the First Amendment to the Constitution. Ultimately, parades, pickets, and demonstrations all further basic expressive values relating to self-governance, the search for truth, and individual autonomy. Nevertheless, Americans seeking to engage in collective modes of expression face a variety of doctrinal, legal, social, and political challenges. The chapter then details how digital connectivity has facilitated expressive opportunities by connecting individuals and supporting new forms of associational activity.

Model Penguatan Subak di Era New Normal: Analisis Peran Collective Action pada Penerapan Sistem Terintegrasi Itik Padi di Tabanan-Bali

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
pp. 167
Author(s):  
Nyoman Utari Vipriyanti ◽  
Dewa Ayu Puspawati ◽  
Putu Lasmi Yulianthi Sapanca ◽  
Made Emy Handayani Citra
Keyword(s):  
Collective Action ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
Rural Economy ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Integrated System ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
New Normal ◽  
The Government

The Covid 19 pandemic has brought significant changes to the economy of Bali as a domestic and foreign tourist destination. The tourism sector, as the main contributor to the largest contributor to Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP), experienced a contraction, which had an impact on other sectors. One of the sectors affected in the agricultural sector, especially the marketing of food products. In the new normal era in Bali, it is necessary to strengthen the rural economy through the application of technology but the process of implementing these innovations is not always successful. The success of collective action is determined by the rational boundaries of society. The rational boundaries of society can be expanded by the presence of symmetrical information. The research objective was to analyze the role of collective action on the application of the Integrated System of Rice Ducks as an effort to increase farmers' income. This research is a case study in Subak Lanyah, Tabanan Sub District, Tabanan-Bali District. Primary data were collected through direct observation and questionnaires while secondary data were collected through literature studies. Analysis of the role of collective action in the application of the integrated system of rice ducks (STIP) was carried out statistically descriptive of farm costs and farmer income. The results showed that the STIP innovation as an effort to increase farmers' income was successfully implemented through Collective action. The collective action mechanism plays a role in strengthening social capital which encourages the application of STIP technology so that the income of Subak member farmers in Subak Lanyah, Tabanan-Bali increases. The success in implementing STIP technology is done by building a process of communication, trust, and networks of farmers with the government, private sector, and universities.of communication, trust, and networks of farmers with the government, private sector, and universities.

Collective Action and Political Change: Public and Semipublic Strategies of Brazilian Rural Movements (1990s–2017)

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (5) ◽  
pp. 113-130
Author(s):  
Priscila Delgado de Carvalho
Keyword(s):  
Collective Action ◽  
Social Movement ◽  
Regime Change ◽  
Political Change ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Government

A study of the Brazilian Movimento dos Pequenos Agricultores during recent moments of regime change suggests two main strategies for understanding the impacts of political change on social movement action: assessing the degree of political proximity between activists and the government and the presence or absence of institutional venues for interaction and looking beyond the public expressions of contention to consider semipublic action. When there is political proximity the public activities of movements tend to be less contentious, and when there are institutional venues for interaction protests will be routinized rather than disruptive. When proximity is lacking activists are likely to perform disruptive protests and to give priority to disputing meanings within society and within their own constituencies. Um estudo do Movimento dos Pequenos Agricultores do Brasil durante momentos recentes de mudança de regime sugere duas estratégias principais para entender os impactos das mudanças políticas na ação do movimento social: avaliar o grau de proximidade política entre ativistas e o governo e a presença ou ausência de espaços institucionais para interação e olhar além das expressões públicas de discórdia para considerar a ação semipública. Quando há proximidade política, as atividades públicas dos movimentos tendem a ser menos contenciosas e, quando existem canais institucionais para interação, tende-se a rotinas de protestos pouco disruptivos. Quando falta proximidade, é provável que os ativistas dêem prioridade a protestos disruptivos e a disputas de significados na sociedade e dentro de seus próprios quadros.

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