Oxford China Forum Online Event: Professor Zhou Xueguang’s Talk

Title: Stratified Spatial Mobility in the Chinese Bureaucracy: Further Explorations

Speaker: Professor Zhou Xueguang, Department of Sociology, Stanford University

Time: Wednesday, February 24, 2021, 3 PM (London); 11 PM (Beijing); 10 AM (EST); Zoom Registration Required

Introduction

Spatial mobility among officials has been an important mechanism of political control in China’s governance. Zhou and collaborators (2016; Zhou et. al 2018) proposed a model of stratified spatial mobility across administrative jurisdictions and presented a series of empirical evidence. This talk advances this line of research by the further exploration of stratified mobility patterns on two fronts: (1) We develop theoretical arguments on mechanisms of political control and centralization, and present related empirical evidence; (2) We contrast patterns of spatial vs. local mobility and examine their implications for governance in China. Our empirical study examines the mobility patterns of chief officials in bureaus and offices in a large bureaucracy—local governments in Jiangsu Province of China, from 1990 to 2012.

政府官员的空间流动是中国国家治理中政治控制的一个重要机制。周雪光教授及合作者（2016；Zhou et al，2018）提出了空间层级分流的理论模型，并展示了一系列经验证据。本期讲座，周教授将与我们分享他这一研究的最新进展。他将从两方面对层级分流模式进一步探讨，推进这一研究方向：（1）提出关于政治控制和集权机制的理论思路，并展示相关的经验证据；（2）对比空间流动与块上流动的两元模式，并探究它们对中国治理的启示。这一实证研究考察自1990年至2012年间江苏省各级地方政府部门主要官员的流动模式。

Professor Xueguang Zhou

Profile: https://sociology.stanford.edu/people/xueguang-zhou

Xueguang Zhou is a professor of sociology, the Kwoh-Ting Li Professor in Economic Development, and a senior fellow at Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford University. In the past decade, he conducted fieldwork to understand interactions among state policies, local officials and citizens at the grassroots level. This line of research was summarized in his book The Institutional Logic of Governance in China: An Organizational Approach (in Chinese, Sanlian Press, 2017). Professor Zhou currently works with a research team to examine patterns of personnel flow among government offices in the Chinese bureaucracy. He also conducts research on the historical origins of the bureaucratic state in China.

主讲人简介：
周雪光，斯坦福大学社会学系教授，李国鼎（Kwoh-Ting Li）经济发展讲座教授，弗里曼·斯伯格里（Freeman Spogli）国际问题研究所高级研究员。在过去十年中，周雪光教授从事了一系列田野调查，旨在认识国家政策、地方官员和基层民众之间的互动。这一研究工作成果结集于《中国国家治理的制度逻辑：一个组织学研究》（中文，三联出版社，2017）。目前，周教授及其研究团队从事中国政府部门人事流动和人事管理模式的研究工作。此外，他的另一研究课题是中国官僚制国家的历史渊源。

Zoom Registration Link: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJArceivrD8rH9xZ3O7ZYEVkMbblV-X_STW9

Oxford China Forum is a student-run organization at the University of Oxford and one of the largest China-related forums in the UK. It was founded in 2013 and directed by Oxford China Centre. It aims to host events that provide insights into contemporary China, across various areas including international relations, politics, economics, culture and literature. To date, OCF has hosted influential speakers, including Kevin Rudd, former Australian prime minister, Christoper Hum, former British ambassador, and other celebrities and experts in different fields such as Professor Rana Mitter, Professor Francis Ting Ming Lui, Xu Xiaoping, Yan Geling, Feng Tang, Xu Bing, Jin Xing. This year, Mr. Ban Ki-moon and the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford are invited.

The Event Series is a new spinoff project of OCF consisting of virtual talks given by leading academics and experts in China studies. The events cover topics ranging from ancient Chinese philosophy to international relations. Each talk is followed by a live Q&A session. Follow our Facebook page for more information on the Event Series!