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The social politics of dispossession: Informal institutions and land expropriation in China

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  • Karita Kan

Abstract

Extant studies on land dispossession often focus on its economic and extra-economic aspects, with respective emphasis on the operation of market mechanisms and the deployment of state-led coercion in bringing about the separation of households from their land. This article draws attention to the under-examined role of informal institutions in the politics of dispossession. Social organisations such as lineages and clans pervade grassroots societies and are central to land control and configurations of property rights. In China, the reconsolidation of lineages as shareholding corporations that develop real estate and operate land transfers has rendered them prominent actors in the politics of land and urbanisation. Drawing on an empirical case study, this article argues that informal institutions play a crucial role in mediating both the economic and extra-economic processes of dispossession. It further shows how, by providing the networks necessary for collective mobilisation and supplying the normative framework through which rightful shares in land are claimed, social organisations are at the same time instrumental in the organisation of anti-dispossession struggles. By unravelling the social dynamics that underlie land expropriation, this article offers a nuanced perspective to the politics of dispossession that goes beyond narratives of state-led coercion and market compulsion.

Suggested Citation

  • Karita Kan, 2020. "The social politics of dispossession: Informal institutions and land expropriation in China," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 57(16), pages 3331-3346, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:57:y:2020:i:16:p:3331-3346
    DOI: 10.1177/0042098019897880
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Tsai, Lily L., 2007. "Solidary Groups, Informal Accountability, and Local Public Goods Provision in Rural China," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 101(2), pages 355-372, May.
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    Cited by:

    1. Yingmin Huang & Desheng Xue & Gengzhi Huang, 2021. "Economic Development, Informal Land-Use Practices and Institutional Change in Dongguan, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-18, February.
    2. Renhao Yang & Qingyuan Yang, 2020. "Restructuring the State: Policy Transition of Construction Land Supply in Urban and Rural China," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-17, December.
    3. Zhang, Chuanyong & Song, Yanjiao, 2022. "Road to the city: Impact of land expropriation on farmers’ urban settlement intention in China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).
    4. Chenxi Li & Jingyao Wu & Zenglei Xi & Weiqiang Zhang, 2021. "Farmers’ Satisfaction with Land Expropriation System Reform: A Case Study in China," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-16, December.
    5. Tianxiao Zhou & Zhiwen Luo & Xiaobin Zhang, 2024. "How do China's villages self‐organize collective land use under the background of rural revitalization? A multi‐case study in Zhejiang, Fujian and Guizhou provinces," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(1), March.

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