The local state

The chapter discusses how sub-national governments function in Russia and in China. It shows that both countries feature substantial differences in the way sub-national politics is organized in different regions or provinces, and that these differences can be best described by using different angles of approach. In Russia, regional politics is organized along a number of sub-national political regimes (from isles of autocracy to more competitive and pluralist systems). In China, the central state does not allow a similar variation of institutions to form, but permits the emergence of local coalitions, which are frequently described using the concept of the “local state.†We show how in China this “local state†became an engine of economic growth during certain periods of its development, while Russia’s sub-national regimes have a highly heterogeneous impact on economic performance.