The norms of Chinese harmony Disciplinary rules as social stabiliser A harmonious society is one in which the rule of law is given greater strength and authority
Abstract
Whereas the concept of “ socialist rule of law” punctuated political discourse in the late 1990s, it is the idea of a “socialist harmonious society” that today casts a strange light, clearly more Marxist than Confucian, on Chinese legal reform. This theoretical framework turns law into a disciplinary principle dedicated to society’s moral construction. If law is seen as an instrument for legitimizing power, it remains implicitly but primarily subordinate to the regime’s durability. Although more and more ordinary citizens are seizing hold of normative tools being put at their disposal, the party-state, fearful of being outflanked, is seeking to snuff out the democratic ferment contained in forces it has itself unleashed.
References
Electronic reference
Leïla Choukroune and Antoine Garapon, « The norms of Chinese harmony Disciplinary rules as social stabiliser A harmonious society is one in which the rule of law is given greater strength and authority », China Perspectives [Online], 2007/3 | 2007, Online since 01 September 2010, connection on 25 February 2021. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/chinaperspectives/2013 ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/chinaperspectives.2013
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