The Logic of Fragmented Activism among Chinese State-Owned Enterprise Workers

Abstract

One of the fundamental weaknesses of popular collective action in China is a lack of broad-based solidarity. This article examines the collective protests by workers at state-owned enterprises when many of them were restructured from the mid-1990s through the mid-2010s, which often led to downsizing, closures, or privatization. The article draws on interviews conducted with retirees and laid-off workers from 91 restructured state-owned enterprises in a city in Hunan Province, plus an in-depth case study of one factory there. The evidence shows that the local state was able to fragment labor activism not only by using intimidation and coercion to prevent broad-based mobilization but also by creating incentives for workers to pursue narrow identities and particularistic claims. This explains why the workers’ mobilization was often counterproductive—rather than building up group solidarity, their mobilization tended to divide and demoralize workers’ communities. The study examines the nature of the divisions between worker groups and shows which specific types of groups were able to persevere and which types were able to transcend a single firm in their claims. This article also indicates that divisions between worker groups were not always predetermined by socioeconomic cleavages but instead often resulted from workers’ interactions with the government and with each other. The findings provide insights into the limits of popular collective action in China.

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