This book analyzes the decollectivization reform in China during the early 1980s in order to gauge its impact on central control and provincial discretion. The volume challenges the notion that the decision to decentralize administrative authority ipso facto produces local discretion properly keyed to local conditions. In fact, outcomes often differ from the intended goals.

Professor Chung is Associate Professor in the Department of International Relations, Seoul National University.

• 1: Introduction


• 2: Central-Provincial Relations in China


• 3: Central Control and Provincial Discretion during Decollectivization


• 4: The Politics of 'Pioneering' in Anhui


• 5: The Politics of 'Bandwagoning' in Shandong


• 6: The Politics of Resistance in Heilongjiang


• 7: Conclusion