| Publication |
2013.
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| Summary/Abstract |
Based on first-hand field research data, this paper explores the construction of a 'Farmers' City' in Wenzhou in the early 1980s. It studies the actors, their relationships, and the institutions, and proposes a 'state-society interdependence model'. It concludes that the spontaneous, bottom-up urbanization process initiated by farmers as described in the texts was actually the win-win result of an interactive and interdependent relationship between the farmers and local government. The reasons are: (1) the actors, including the local government, the specialized farmers (zhuanye hu), and the other farmers, collectively owned, controlled, and obtained the resources; (2) in terms of the mobilization-response process, the close patron-client ties between the farmers and local government formed a strong interdependent relationship; and (3) in terms of the institutional reforms, the folk interests and demands were always a reference point for the local government. The farmers and their government were partners, participants, and practitioners in grassroots institutional reform.
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