Repression Backfires: Tactical Radicalization and Protest Spectacle in Rural China

Journal of Contemporary China, Vol. 24, No. 93 (May 2015), pp. 457-70

26 Pages Posted: 16 Dec 2013 Last revised: 16 May 2015

See all articles by Kevin J. O'Brien

Kevin J. O'Brien

University of California, Berkeley - Charles and Louise Travers Department of Political Science

Yanhua Deng

Department of Sociology, Nanjing Universtiy

Date Written: May 1, 2015

Abstract

In spring 2005, villagers in Dongyang County, Zhejiang were unhappy. For four years, they had been complaining about pollution emitted by 13 factories located in the Zhuxi Chemical Park. But nothing had been done. So they set up a tent encampment to block delivery of supplies to the factories. At first, they employed restrained tactics, including going about daily life in the tents, badgering cadres sent to demobilize them, and kowtowing. After a harsh repression produced hundreds of injuries and left dozens of damaged vehicles and other evidence of police action strewn about, the tent-sitters switched to more aggressive tactics, including denouncing local leaders, carrying out mock funerals, interrogating factory owners, and ransacking homes of 'traitors'. The authorities’ ill-considered and poorly-timed repression led to tactical escalation, helped draw thousands of people to the scene, and ultimately resulted in the chemical park being closed. This episode speaks to the 'dissent-repression nexus' and suggests that repression can be counterproductive when it encourages protesters to ratchet up their tactics and a 'protest spectacle' ensues. In today’s China, striking displays and theatrical performances, especially in the wake of a crackdown, can attract an audience, bring in financial support and create a carnival-like atmosphere in which popular acclaim, the breakdown of social order and the inversion of power hierarchies grants protesters leverage and induces the authorities to make concessions.

Keywords: protest, policing, tactics, spectacle, Zhejiang, contention, environment, activism, China

JEL Classification: K42, N45, P20

Suggested Citation

O'Brien, Kevin J. and Deng, Yanhua, Repression Backfires: Tactical Radicalization and Protest Spectacle in Rural China (May 1, 2015). Journal of Contemporary China, Vol. 24, No. 93 (May 2015), pp. 457-70, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2367997

Kevin J. O'Brien (Contact Author)

University of California, Berkeley - Charles and Louise Travers Department of Political Science ( email )

210 Barrows Hall
Berkeley, CA 94720
United States

Yanhua Deng

Department of Sociology, Nanjing Universtiy ( email )

No. 163, Xianlin Avenue, Qixia
Nanjing, Jiangsu 210023
China

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