Social Sciences in China (Chinese Edition)

No.3, 2019

Government Behavior and the Development of Chinese Society—Sociological Research Findings and Paradigm Shifts

(Abstract)

Zhou Feizhou

Research on government behavior is an important field in Chinese sociology that has produced many valuable results, which are closely connected to the governmentled development model with Chinese characteristics. There have been three successive paradigms in the sociological analysis of government action: analysis of interest structures, analysis of institutions and analysis that is moving toward the historical dimension of government behavior. The three paradigms are closely related to the reform process and changes in local government behavior; they reflect the richness and complexity of China’s reform process. Unlike the economic or political approach, sociological research on government behavior directs more attention to the role of social relations in the analysis of government relations with enterprises and the market. Social relations and their mode of operation are not only a key factor in explaining the flourishing of township and village enterprises and government/enterprise relations in the early stage of reform, but also the underlying reason for the failure of the policy under the project system. On the question of the role played by social relations in government behavior, sociological research exhibits a rich and varied array of essays while also making a breakthrough in the binary analytical paradigm of “state and society.” Such sociological research has advanced toward a historical dimension that already transcends the specific area and scope of government behavior, a development that is of great significance for the Sinicization of sociology and the construction of a sociology with Chinese characteristics.