Effective Governance: Explorations and Practices of China's Grassroots Social Governance – Based on Field Research in Zhejiang, China (2000–2025)

Friday, 5 June 2026, 1pm to 2pm

Since the early 1980s, the system of villagers' self-governance has been widely implemented in rural China. Under specific conditions, this self-governance system has effectively promoted the practice of grassroots democracy. The innovative wisdom and comprehensive participation of grassroots communities have contributed to emphasizing the pursuit of democratic values and the construction of democratic institutions. However, due to the failure to accord governance effectiveness the due importance it deserves, various inefficiencies or ineffectiveness have emerged in rural governance practices. Since the turn of the century, building on past experiences in rural governance, the Chinese government has gradually established effectiveness as a new guiding principle for innovative rural governance development. This implies that China's rural governance in the coming period will shift from emphasizing democratic management to placing greater emphasis on effective governance within a democratic framework, with effectiveness becoming a pivotal orientation for grassroots governance in the new era. What constitutes effective governance? How can we advance effective governance at the grassroots level? The lecture will share findings from field investigations conducted by research teams over the past two decades on the effectiveness of grassroots social governance in China.

Bingjie Dai, PhD in Sociology, Associate Professor at Communication University of Zhejiang, China.

Speaker(s): Professor Bingjie Dai (Communication University of Zhejiang)

Series: Mandarin Forum

Venue: Dickson Poon Building, Oxford China Centre - Ho Tim Seminar Room (first floor) - Ho Tim Seminar Room Dickson Poon Building, Oxford China Centre Canterbury Road Oxford Oxfordshire OX2 6LU United Kingdom

Department: Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (Department)

Organiser: Dr Yang Han

Host: Professor Todd Hall and Dr Yang Han