Policy Coalition Building in an Authoritarian Legislature: Evidence From China's National Assemblies (1983–2007)

Comparative Political Studies, Forthcoming

82 Pages Posted: 22 Sep 2018

See all articles by Xiaobo Lü

Xiaobo Lü

University of Texas at Austin

Mingxing Liu

Peking University - School of Government

Feiyue Li

Peking University

Date Written: June 12, 2018

Abstract

Recent studies of authoritarian legislatures underscore the importance of institutions for cooptation and information collection, but many still consider authoritarian legislatures rubber stamps in policymaking. We argue that authoritarian legislatures could be important arenas of the contestation reflected in delegates’ bills and proposals instead of their voting outcomes. Specifically, government agencies use authoritarian legislatures to build policy coalitions in order to advance their policy agendas. Delegates serve as proxy fighters for key party and government elites with different policy preferences. We provide evidence based on an original dataset containing education related bills and policy proposals submitted to both Chinese national assemblies between 1983 and 2007. We identify the existence of the policy coalitions, and find coalition building is more intensified prior to the promulgation of education related laws. We then employ network analysis to illustrate the channels behind policy coalition network.

Keywords: China, Legislative Studies, Nondemocratic Regimes

Suggested Citation

Lü, Xiaobo and Liu, Mingxing and Li, Feiyue, Policy Coalition Building in an Authoritarian Legislature: Evidence From China's National Assemblies (1983–2007) (June 12, 2018). Comparative Political Studies, Forthcoming, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3198531

Xiaobo Lü (Contact Author)

University of Texas at Austin ( email )

Department of Government
Mail Stop: A1800
Austin, TX 78712
United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.xiaobolu.com

Mingxing Liu

Peking University - School of Government ( email )

No. 38 Xueyuan Road
Haidian District
Beijing, Beijing 100871
China

Feiyue Li

Peking University

No. 38 Xueyuan Road
Haidian District
Beijing, Beijing 100871
China

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