Relative deprivation and historical memories: Public opinion about intercity rivalry in contemporary China.

详细信息   

• 作者：Zhang ; Meimei.
• 学历：Doctor
• 年：2009
• 导师：Jennings, M. K.,eadvisorLiu, Alan P. L.,eadvisorGlasgow, Garrettecommittee member
• 毕业院校：University of California
• Department：Political Science
• ISBN：9781109081893
• CBH：3350368
• Country：USA
• 语种：English
• FileSize：1577463
• Pages：296

文摘

My dissertation provides a group-based analysis of Chinese public opinion about intercity economic disparities, which has substantial bearings on the legitimacy of the government, the administrative hierarchy, and the grand strategy of Chinas economic reforms. Drawing on web-based survey responses, content analysis of Internet postings, media coverage, and personal interviews with local informants across the four metropolises of Chengdu, Chongqing, Tianjin and Beijing, my dissertation addresses the phenomena of relative deprivation and historical memories in the background of intercity competition in a modernizing China. The findings indicate that peoples consciousness of deprivation tends to be group-based, with the emphasis on distributive injustice and policy discrimination. I also contend, in accordance with the "memory effect hypothesis," that peoples expectations are derived from collective memories of the chronologies of city development based on contemporary comparisons between rival cities as well as longitudinal comparisons throughout historical eras. The sense of injustice appears to encourage individuals from disadvantaged cities to use constructed historical memories in order to de-legitimize the current undesirable economic condition. Consequently, an underdog situation induces a tendency of attributing less development to procedural injustice and policy discrimination in the current administrative system, which may challenge the legitimacy of Chinas economic reform strategy and political configuration. Boosted by the usage of Internet forums as the "weapon of the weak," political contentions regarding intercity rivalry in Chinas cyberspace provide a striking example of political engagement and criticism of government policies using modern media as the intermediator. This dissertation also has implications for improving the quality of political communication, facilitating the emergence of a virtual "civil society," and, in turn, expediting the process of democratization in China.