Since the inception of the Chinese village autonomy system in 1982, it has a history of more than 40 years. Presently, the development of rural governance in China faces two major challenges. The first is to choose a path to modernize rural administr...
Since the inception of the Chinese village autonomy system in 1982, it has a history of more than 40 years. Presently, the development of rural governance in China faces two major challenges. The first is to choose a path to modernize rural administration, particularly how to reconcile the relationship between state-run administrative systems and the autonomy system and how to improve the relationship between different entities managing rural areas. Secondly, the effective implementation of rural management methods with rural autonomy being an important aspect that cannot be overlooked, regardless of the specific issues raised by rural management. However, the current research within the Chinese academic community on village autonomy is seriously lacking in the analysis from an organizational development perspective. By examining the development process of village autonomy from the perspective of organizational development since 1982, not only can the overall research perspective deficiencies be addressed, but it can also contribute to the construction of the rural governance system.
This study takes a new institutionalist perspective and draws on sociological institutional theory to investigate the evolution of the Chinese village autonomy system. This involves examining institutional changes during different periods, identifying the characteristics and issues of the village autonomy system, and discussing the development direction of the village autonomy system.
The Chinese village autonomy system can be roughly divided into four periods: The First Period of Institutional Establishment (1982-1997): Preliminary Exploration of village autonomy System. The Second Period of Institutional Construction (1998-2005): Legalization in Autonomy and Establishment of the 'Township Government—village autonomy' System. The Third Period of Institutional Deepening (2006-2016): Increased Organizational and Institutional Levels, Establishment of the "Rural Governance" System. The Fourth Period of Rural Revitalization (2017-2023): Initiating the Construction of a "Pluralistic Governance" System with the Aim of Achieving Effective autonomy.
The institutional changes of each period are analyzed in terms of the environmental factors that led to the changes and the specific content of the changes. Environmental factors include political, economic, structural, and socio-cultural factors. The development content is analyzed based on the organizational structure, institutional factors, and political factors, providing an analysis that describes the characteristics and context of the development of the village self-government system.
Based on the analysis above, this paper summarizes four existing issues in village autonomy along with corresponding strategies:
First, Insufficient Governance Capacity of Grassroots Autonomous Organizations. Strategy: Strengthen talent development and modernize governance methods.
Second, Incomplete Legal System Related to village autonomy. Strategy: Improve the legal framework related to village autonomy.
Third, Lack of Participation Awareness among Villagers Leading to Poor Autonomous Effects. Strategy: Enhance democratic awareness through education and civic engagement.
Fourth, Incomplete Democratic Supervision Mechanism among Villagers. Strategy: Improve the supervision mechanism for democratic governance.
At present,China's rural governance is still in the fourth period, and it requires continued development with the goal of achieving effective governance. To accomplish this objective, it is necessary to explore a pluralistic governance system within the context of the era and specific local environments.