Berlin Contemporary China Networks (BCCN)

Strikes, protests, and riots by Chinese workers have been rising over the past decade-plus. The state has addressed a number of grievances, yet has also come down increasingly hard on civil society groups pushing for reform. Why are these two seemingly clashing developments occurring simultaneously? Drawing on his recent book, Manfred Elfstrom will use extensive fieldwork and statistical analysis to examine both the causes and consequences of protest in “the workshop of the world.” Instead of taking sides in the old debate over whether non-democracies like China’s are on the verge of collapse or have instead found ways of maintaining their power indefinitely, he will explore the daily evolution of autocratic rule.

Manfred Elfstrom is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics, Philosophy, and Political Science at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan. He is the author of Workers and Change in China: Resistance, Repression, Responsiveness (Cambridge University Press, 2021).