Still the Age of the State? Organized Social Participation and Civil Society Development in Urban China

Today, China is seeing a vibrant dynamism of grassroots voluntary activities, which increases expectations for the rise of a civil society. However, despite the increase of non-governmental organizations, the government still occupies a key role in the sphere of the citizens' organized social participation. In urban China, mass organizations and residents' committees help the state to reach out to the mass and to permeate society. The transformation of state-society relations is deeply impacted by the totalitarian legacy of mass control and mobilization.