China is a country that has a large number of minorities, who live in specific regions which are mainly located in Middle and West China. They are abundant in natural resources and are of general importance for China in strategic and ecological terms. Minorities live in relatively compact...

Applying a historical institutionalist perspective, this paper examines the genesis, implementation process and impact of the recent Rural Tax and Fee Reform (RTFR) in China. It is posited that the RTFR represents a serious, although inconsistent, attempt to shift the balance of central-local...

This paper analyses institutional reforms and political participation, most notably indirect and direct elections of residential committees (RC), in China's urban neighbourhoods and communities (shequ). It shows that these elections at present are not meaningful to the majority of city dwellers...

Die vorliegende Arbeit geht der Frage nach, ob sich in China eine Zivilgesellschaft in der Entstehung befindet. Die Autorinnen und Autoren widmen sich hierfür einer Reihe politischer und sozialer Entwicklungen und Phänomene, die auf ein sich änderndes Beziehungsgefüge zwischen Staat und...

This paper analyzes the question whether or not in China structures of a civil society are emerging. It addresses the increasing separation of state and society, the society's differentiation, growing social and spatial disparities, the turn of the CCP from a class towards a people's party, the...

This working paper brings together assessments of the trilateral relations between China, the EU und the US from the disciplines of political science and economics. The first paper primarily addresses the following three issues: a) China's current development and prospects b) EU-China relations,...