New York: Columbia University Press, 2016. x, 216 pp. (Tables, figures.) US$60.00, cloth. ISBN 978-0-231-17620-0.
Why is China, unlike other large countries, stuck on a highly centralized unitary governing system, instead of adopting a federal governing structure? What drives China’s perennial preoccupation with effective control over localities? These questions are at the heart of Centrifugal Empire, which seeks to “reconstruct, empirically, how the central leaders of the People’s Republic have thought about localities and gone about designing modes of local governance” (3). The book argues that central-local relations in the People’s Republic have been shaped not only by its leaders’ contemporary political-economic agendas (for example, centralization and ideological control during Mao’s era; marketization and decentralization during the reform period) but also by China’s long historical past: established modes of central-local relations and historical memory of the capacity of “centrifugal forces” to threaten and to topple rulers and divide the centre. Communist leaders, therefore, are “as preoccupied as their imperial predecessors with local governance and devote much effort in improving their capacity to control regions and provinces” (3).
The book’s chapters discuss various dynamics of central-local relations. Following an introduction to the book’s conceptual framework in chapter 1, the second chapter relates to the issue of decentralization. It begins with a discussion of the Mao era, which the author identifies as “an exception to China’s centrifugal tradition” (16). It then focuses on economic and non-economic aspects of decentralization during the reform period, and concludes that while local discretion has, overall, increased considerably in the economic realm, the centre still enjoys extensive commanding power in non-economic areas. Chapter 3 discusses institutional changes and continuities in the Chinese local administrative hierarchy. It provides an overall account of the evolution of China’s system of local governance, and discusses four cases of institutional changes at the sub-provincial level during the reform period: (1) creating deputy-provincial cities; (2) turning prefectures into prefecture-level cities; (3) changing counties into county-level cities; and (4) designating counties and county-level cities as urban districts.
Chapter 4 explores the evolution of the central state’s perception of the local state in the People’s Republic. At the heart of the discussion is a three-image typology of the local bureaucracy: the agent (localities performing as the centre’s loyal agents), the principal (localities defending their own interests as opposed to national or societal interests), and the representative (localities articulating and defending societal interests in the face of the central state). The chapter then elaborates on Beijing’s different perception of the various levels of the subnational government. Chapter 5 discusses four types of instruments which Beijing has devised/refined during the reform period to rein in its localities (i.e., prevention, investigation, rule changing, and suppression) and suggests that “the People’s Republic’s principal mode of local control resembles that of traditional China more than that of the pre-1949 revolutionary era” (12).
Chapter 6 probes the impact of policy characteristics on local discretion. It typifies policies by three categories: scope, nature, and level of urgency. Based on the investigation of six national policy cases, the author suggests that, “assuming that all other things (i.e., local assertiveness, patronage networks, and societal demands) are similar among the provinces, the level of local discretion actually permitted for implementation is likely to vary with different types of policy” (90). Chapter 7 focuses on the evolution of four types of policy instruments for mitigating regional disparities: (1) vertical resource support; (2) vertical policy support; (3) vertically-induced horizontal support networks; and (4) voluntarily-formed horizontal linkages. It argues that “whereas Beijing’s policy support and vertically-induced horizontal networks were important in the early phases of the reform era, the center’s resource support and voluntarily-formed lateral linkages have become increasingly crucial in recent years” (116). Chapter 8 elaborates on central-local dynamics and state-society relations, and assesses that, in the future, strong centrifugal forces will continue to stand up against the centre, “which will in turn resort to many of the traditional means of local control in addition to modern, innovative ones” (148).
Centrifugal Empire succeeds at achieving its stated goals. Meticulously researched, it provides a wide-ranging account of central-local dynamics and their evolution. It integrates theoretical debate and rich empirical research, and sheds light on aspects which have remained under-studied to date: notably, the institutional evolution of the local governing system, the role of horizontal networks in China’s development, and the striking resemblance between traditional and contemporary times. The book contributes to many contemporary debates and raises intriguing questions and speculations regarding China’s future. Doing so in a relatively short book is a great accomplishment. However, I felt that parts of the book were too concise, and could justifiably have been more detailed. I wish the author had addressed the following in a more systemic and detailed fashion. First, the role (if any) of political indoctrination in post-Mao China in shaping central-local dynamics (e.g., via the Party school system and Party cells). Second, how, and to what extent, do structural governance institutions, which bring together officials from different tiers of the governance system, impact dynamics of central-local relations? And third, I wished for a deeper exploration of the terminology that central leaders have used to refer to the local state and its evolution.
Nevertheless, Centrifugal Empire is an excellent book—one of the most comprehensive accounts published on China’s central-local relations, and an important contribution to the field. It is highly recommended and suitable for sinologists and non-sinologists alike. Students may find this book a useful guide and a good starting point for delving into the complex world of Chinese governance. And it is definitely the kind of book that specialists want to have on their shelves.
Lior Rosenberg
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
pp. 140-142