Overview

"China's management of urbanization is an under-appreciated factor in the regime's longevity. The Chinese Communist Party fears ""Latin Americanization"" -- the emergence of highly unequal megacities with their attendant slums and social unrest. Such cities threaten the survival of nondemocratic regimes. To combat the threat, many regimes, including China's, favor cities in policymaking. Cities and Stability shows this ""urban bias"" to be a Faustian Bargain: cities may be stabilized for a time, but the massive in-migration from the countryside that results can generate the conditions for political upheaval. Through its hukou system of internal migration restrictions, China has avoided this dilemma, simultaneously aiding urbanites and keeping farmers in the countryside. The system helped prevent social upheaval even during the Great Recession, when tens of millions of laid-off migrant workers dispersed from coastal cities. Jeremy Wallace's powerful account forces us to rethink the relationship between cities and political stability throughout the developing world."

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9780199378999

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How has China navigated the dangerous shoals of explosive growth with less urban unrest and brutal repression than other nations? In this lucid, convincing, study of the prevention of slums and the dispersal of dissent, backed by impressive comparative and historical evidence, Wallace has made a lasting contribution to our understanding of urbanization and political stability. --James C. Scott, Yale University In Cities and Stability, Wallace examines the relationship between urban concentration and political stability in nondemocratic regimes, with special attention to China. By skillfully combining the political economy of urban bias with in-depth examinations of China's development, Wallace has produced a stimulating and thought-provoking study. This timely book is an important contribution to the political economy of development and deserves a broad readership. --Dali Yang, The University of Chicago A rich and expertly-written book which addresses a series of interrelated puzzles of Chinese politics. Why are there relatively few urban slums in China? What are the politics behind the CCP's move away from policies favoring urban areas? And how has effective management of urban populations increased the durability of the Chinese regime? Cities and Stability is an important and ambitious book which tackles all three of these critical questions. --Lisa Blaydes, Stanford University

How has China navigated the dangerous shoals of explosive growth with less urban unrest and brutal repression than other nations? In this lucid, convincing, study of the prevention of slums and the dispersal of dissent, backed by impressive comparative and historical evidence, Wallace has made a lasting contribution to our understanding of urbanization and political stability. --James C. Scott, Yale University In Cities and Stability, Wallace examines the relationship between urban concentration and political stability in nondemocratic regimes, with special attention to China. By skillfully combining the political economy of urban bias with in-depth examinations of China's development, Wallace has produced a stimulating and thought-provoking study. This timely book is an important contribution to the political economy of development and deserves a broad readership. --Dali Yang, The University of Chicago A rich and expertly-written book which addresses a series of interrelated puzzles of Chinese politics. Why are there relatively few urban slums in China? What are the politics behind the CCP's move away from policies favoring urban areas? And how has effective management of urban populations increased the durability of the Chinese regime? Cities and Stability is an important and ambitious book which tackles all three of these critical questions. --Lisa Blaydes, Stanford University

How has China navigated the dangerous shoals of explosive growth with less urban unrest and brutal repression than other nations? In this lucid, convincing, study of the prevention of slums and the dispersal of dissent, backed by impressive comparative and historical evidence, Wallace has made a lasting contribution to our understanding of urbanization and political stability. * James C. Scott, Yale University *

Author Information

Jeremy L. Wallace is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the Ohio State University.

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