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While the number of labor protests in China has rapidly increased in recent years, how the Chinese workers engage in protest is largely unknown. Drawing on the social network perspective and in-depth field work, Jeffrey Becker sheds light on the process of protest by Chinese rural-to-urban migrant workers. The central finding that migrant workers' social ties, being rural or urban, play an important role in shaping protest actions, is interesting and provocative. It's a crucial contribution to our understanding of contemporary labor protest in China. -- Mingwei Liu, Rutgers University Why do some people engage in protest when others in similar situations do not? In this innovative study, based on several years of field work, Jeff Becker explains why some migrant workers in China pursue their grievances while others in the same working conditions and suffering from the same kinds of problems, such as workplace injuries and unpaid wages, do not. He challenges the usual debate on whether formal institutions or cultural values are most important in explaining political behavior. Instead, he finds the answer lies in migrant workers' 'weak ties' with new social relations and informal channels of communication in their new communities, in particular with legal aid centers and new co-workers. He develops a novel and fascinating argument that will be a must-read for those interested in labor protest and collective action. -- Bruce Dickson, George Washington University

While the number of labor protests in China has rapidly increased in recent years, how the Chinese workers engage in protest is largely unknown. Drawing on the social network perspective and in-depth field work, Jeffrey Becker sheds light on the process of protest by Chinese rural-to-urban migrant workers. The central finding that migrant workers' social ties, being rural or urban, play an important role in shaping protest actions, is interesting and provocative. It's a crucial contribution to our understanding of contemporary labor protest in China. -- Mingwei Liu, Rutgers University

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Jeffrey Becker is a China analyst in the CNA Corporation's China Studies Division.

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