TY - JOUR
T1 - Governing through 'the family' in China
T2 - Cultivating ethical political subjects through officials' 'nearest and dearest'
AU - Zhang, Shaoying
AU - McGhee, Derek
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© Policy Press 2019
PY - 2018/7/3
Y1 - 2018/7/3
N2 - In this article we argue that the families of Communist Party members are increasingly being seen as both part of the problem and part of the solution to eradicating corruption in contemporary China. Our findings reveal how families are being investigated as well as co-opted by the party as a mechanism for encouraging its members to become ethical communist subjects. The current anti-corruption campaign in China is the context that has enabled this indirect governance of communist officials through the co-option of their 'nearest and dearest' in the party's power structures. We argue that 'the family' in China is a privileged site for the remoralisation of society and the party through the process of facilitating what we call the 'ethical subjectivities' of officials. The contribution we make in this article is to analyse the continuum between the formal agencies of socialisation within the communist system and the informal but equally important institution of socialisation, namely, Communist Party members' families.
AB - In this article we argue that the families of Communist Party members are increasingly being seen as both part of the problem and part of the solution to eradicating corruption in contemporary China. Our findings reveal how families are being investigated as well as co-opted by the party as a mechanism for encouraging its members to become ethical communist subjects. The current anti-corruption campaign in China is the context that has enabled this indirect governance of communist officials through the co-option of their 'nearest and dearest' in the party's power structures. We argue that 'the family' in China is a privileged site for the remoralisation of society and the party through the process of facilitating what we call the 'ethical subjectivities' of officials. The contribution we make in this article is to analyse the continuum between the formal agencies of socialisation within the communist system and the informal but equally important institution of socialisation, namely, Communist Party members' families.
KW - Anti-corruption
KW - Chinese Communist Party (CCP)
KW - Ethics
KW - Family
KW - Officials
KW - Resocialisation
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85076769612&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1332/204674318X15271465130398
DO - 10.1332/204674318X15271465130398
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85076769612
SN - 2046-7435
VL - 8
SP - 495
EP - 510
JO - Families, Relationships and Societies
JF - Families, Relationships and Societies
IS - 3
ER -