China’s Evolving “Double-Track” Socio-Legal System in Conflict Resolution

Authors

Jieli Li, Ohio UniversityFollow

Abstract

Contemporary China's sociolegal control system is built upon a unique organizational arrangement which differs not only from other countries in the world but also from its own past. The very core of this organizational arrangement is what I define as a “double-track” socio-legality with laws and codified regulation mainly concentrated on economic and commercial sectors with the ruling party focusing its administrative control on political and ideological sectors. This institutional context is critical to understanding the nature of social control mechanism in China. The fact is that with all the laws and regulations promulgated in recent years, the newly developed “legal space”. if examined carefully, only indicates a long-term strategic effort of the Chinese government to adjust rather than abandon its existing socio-legality of conflict meditation and resolution, making it more adaptable to the new social environment shaped by the forces of globalization.

Author Bio(s)

Jieli Li received his doctoral degree in sociology from University of California at Riverside. He is currently an associate professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Ohio University. His research and teaching revolve around social change and development, historical and comparative sociology, sociological theory, and conflict and resolution. His research articles have appeared in some major scholarly journals such as Sociological Theory, International Journal of the Sociology of Law, Sociological Perspectives, Sociological Focus, International Journal of Public Administration, and Michigan Sociological Review, etc. In addition, he currently serves as the council chair of the United Society of China Studies (USCS), president of the Association of Chinese Professors of Social Sciences in the U.S. (ACPSS), and council member at large for the North Central Sociological Association (NCSA). Email: lij@ohio.edu

Keywords

conflict resolution, David Émile Durkheim, grassroots society, Max Weber, People’s Republic of China (PRC), political control, socio-legal system

Publication Date

12-2009

DOI

10.46743/1082-7307/2009.1104

Recommended Citation

Li, Jieli (2009) "China’s Evolving “Double-Track” Socio-Legal System in Conflict Resolution," Peace and Conflict Studies: Vol. 16: No. 2, Article 1.
DOI: 10.46743/1082-7307/2009.1104
Available at: https://nsuworks.nova.edu/pcs/vol16/iss2/1