Transforming Land‐Taking Disputes in Socialist Asia

Engaging an Authoritarian State

Bibliographic Data

ID6089765
AuthorsJohn Gillespie (0000-0002-2436-3004, Monash University, corresponding author)
Year2017
Volume39
Issue3
Pages280-303
Publication date2017-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueLaw & Policy (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0265-8240 • E-ISSN: 1467-9930
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/lapo.12078
OpenAlexW2617989036
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited47

Few studies have responded to the calls by sociolegal scholars to explore how disputes evolve. This article takes up the challenge by examining how intermediaries in socialist Asia resolve land‐taking disputes that are intractable for administrative appeals and courts. Exploring alternatives to state‐based dispute resolution is a pressing issue for conflicts that pit citizens against authoritarian regimes. Using in‐depth interviews, this article investigates how intermediaries such as retired state officials navigate in and around authoritarian regimes, flattening power asymmetries between citizens and land officials. This analysis draws from, links, and advances three literatures that examine dispute resolution in different ways: the sociolegal “naming, blaming, and claiming” literature examines the trajectory of disputes, regulatory studies use legitimacy expectations to analyze how disputants evaluate and prioritize competing regulatory frameworks, and the collective identity literature analyzes how communities respond to disputes. This article contributes to the literature by developing a theoretical framework that explains how intermediaries circumvent conceptual differences and transform disputes. The findings compel researchers to consider the use of intermediaries as an alternative to state‐sponsored dispute resolution in authoritarian settings

Alternative dispute resolution · Authoritarianism · Democracy · Dispute mechanism · Dispute resolution · Economics · Intermediary · Law and economics · Legitimacy · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Public relations · Sociology · State (computer science · China's Socioeconomic Reforms and Governance · Land Rights and Reforms · Law · Law in Society and Culture