When and why do people obey political authority when it runs against their own interests to do so? This book is about the channels beyond direct repression through which China's authoritarian state controls protest and implements ambitious policies from sweeping urbanization schemes that have displaced millions to family planning initiatives like the one-child policy. Daniel C. Mattingly argues that China's remarkable state capacity is not simply a product of coercive institutions such as the secret police or the military. Instead, the state uses local civil society groups as hidden but effective tools of informal control to suppress dissent and implement far-reaching policies. Drawing on evidence from qualitative case studies, experiments, and national surveys, the book challenges the conventional wisdom that a robust civil society strengthens political responsiveness. Surprisingly, it is communities that lack strong civil society groups that find it easiest to act collectively and spontaneously resist the state.

Co-Winner, 2021 Democracy and Autocracy Section Best Book Award, American Political Science Association

Winner, 2021 Gaddis Smith International Book Prize, Yale Macmillan Center

'… sharply observed …'

Andrew J. Nathan Source: Foreign Affairs Magazine

‘… the book makes a strong contribution to its field through its unique micro-level insights on political control in rural China and can be recommended to a wide range of scholars as well as activists and anyone with a keen interest in China’s political and societal landscape.’

Firoz Ehsan, Source: Europe-Asia Studies

‘… the book is a fascinating and rich account of how political control is achieved in autocratic regimes, supported by rigorous empirical evidence. Highly recommended for students of democratization.’

Espen Geelmuyden Rød Source: Journal of Peace Research

‘Drawing on evidence from long-term fieldwork, paired case studies, survey experiments, and national surveys, Mattingly makes a clear, concise argument …’

Yinxian Zhang Source: American Journal of Sociology

‘The work can be recommended for students interested in the dynamics of sociopolitical aspects of China in the past decade.’

Helen Xiaoyan Wu Source: Pacific Affairs