Conclusion

This chapter summarizes the argument of the book. It also puts Chinese and comparative cases into perspective. It delves into the way containment sustains authoritarian rule not only in China, but also in Jordan and Egypt. Like public security bureaus that tolerate house churches to contain the long-term influence of informal Protestantism, state security actors in Jordan and Egypt have contained informal religious groups they anticipate might threaten political stability if left unmonitored. The conclusion ends on a note that is more specific to China. It discusses containment’s impact on societal agency and the circumstances in which it might lead to the legalization of informal religious organizations as autonomous.

Agency (philosophy) · Argument (complex analysis) · Authoritarianism · China · Containment (computer programming) · Development economics · Economics · Legalization · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Protestantism · Social science · Sociology · State (computer science) · Asian Geopolitics and Ethnography · China's Ethnic Minorities and Relations · Chinese history and philosophy · Law · Church and state · Government policy · House churches · Protestant churches · Social conditions