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Title:
How to be a Good Communist in Reform-Era China: Moulding the Agents of the State, 2004-2007

Subject Categories:
Higher and further - Education
Training - Employment and labour
Government and political systems - Politics
Elites and leadership - Social stratification and groupings

Depositor(s):
Pieke,F., University of Oxford. Institute for Chinese Studies

Principal Investigator(s):
Pieke,F., University of Oxford. Institute for Chinese Studies

Sponsor(s):
Economic and Social Research Council

Grant Number:
RES-000-22-0727

Abstract:
Despite almost 30 years of reform, the Chinese state’s functioning continues to revolve around the role of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which suffuses the entire state apparatus, providing it with leadership, purpose and strategy. The party has a range of tools at its disposal to maintain its grip over government, but the key component of continued Leninist supervision is its control over the careers of the officials (cadres) that populate the government, public services, state-owned enterprises, the judiciary, the arms of representative government (people’s congresses and political consultative conferences) and indeed the party apparatus itself. This study interrogates the efforts to use cadre training to standardize, modernize and sanitize the practice and ethos of administration. Cadres, while they continue to be bound by the ideology and practice prescribed by Leninist party discipline, should also become modern, competent managers of increasingly complex organizations.

Interviews were conducted with students, teachers and administrators, along with state and communist party officials. These were fully transcribed in Chinese and personal names of informants have been removed from all transcripts and notes. The collection consists of 85 interview transcripts in Chinese and 9 interview notes in English.

Further information is available from the ESRC Award web page.


Main Topics:
The main topics include:

• contemporary China
• administration
• politics
• political party schools
• Chinese Communist Party
• cadre training

Coverage:
Dates of Fieldwork: April 2004-April 2007
Country: China
Spatial Units: Provinces and prefectures of China
Observation Units: Individuals
Kind of Data: Textual data; Individual (micro) level; Semi-structured interview transcripts; Interview notes

Universe Sampled:
Location of Units of Observation:National; Subnational
Population:Students, teachers and administrators, state and communist party officials in China, 2004-2007.

Methodology:
Time Dimensions: Cross-sectional (one-time) study
Sampling Procedures: Convenience sample
Number of Units: 85 interview transcripts and 9 interview notes covering 97 respondents.
Method of Data Collection: Face-to-face interview
Weighting: Not applicable

Language(s) of Written Materials:
Study Description: English / Chinese
Study Documentation: English

Access:
Access Conditions: The depositor has specified that registration is required and standard conditions of use apply. The depositor may be informed about usage. See terms and conditions for further information.
Availability: ESDS Qualidata, UK Data Archive
Contact: Help desk: qualidata@esds.ac.uk

Date of Release:
First Edition: 14 November 2008

Copyright:
Copyright F. Pieke

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