Showing papers in "Journal of Contemporary Asia in 2016"
TL;DR: The authors examines the production of China's "ghost cities" and constant urban expansion to challenge the dominant conceptual narrative of rural-to-urban migration as the driver of urbanisation, arguing that behind China's “miraculous” urbanisation story is a powerful ideological commitment to urban growth as the "royal road" to modernity and assessment of political performance.
Abstract: This article examines the production of China’s “ghost cities” and constant urban expansion to challenge the dominant conceptual narrative of rural-to-urban migration as the driver of urbanisation. It argues that behind China’s “miraculous” urbanisation story is a powerful ideological commitment to urban growth as the “royal road” to modernity and assessment of political performance. Local governments have a wide-ranging “tool-kit” for pursuing urbanisation, ranging from administrative border-drawing to expropriation of rural land and investment in expanding urban infrastructures. Urbanisation is the destination to which all paths seem to lead. Indeed, local states pursue the construction of new urban space, even when doing so harms them financially. But why? The concept of phantom urbanisation names the process whereby constructing the aesthetic form of the urban is even more important to local state actors than economic, demographic or environmental repercussions.
92 citations
TL;DR: The Deep State also has the monarchy as its keystone, but is far more institutionalised than the network monarchy accounts for as discussed by the authors, which is best demonstrated by the recent use of courts to hamper the rise of electoral politics in a process called judicialisation of politics.
Abstract: This article challenges the network monarchy approach and advocates for the use of the concept of Deep State. The Deep State also has the monarchy as its keystone, but is far more institutionalised than the network monarchy accounts for. The institutionalised character of the anti-democratic alliance is best demonstrated by the recent use of courts to hamper the rise of electoral politics in a process called judicialisation of politics. This article uses exclusive material from the minutes of the 1997 and 2007 constitution-drafting assemblies to substantiate the claim that the Deep State used royalists’ attempts to make the Constitutional Court a surrogate king for purposes of its own self-interested hegemonic preservation.
70 citations
TL;DR: The authors examines some historical antecedents of this authoritarian turn, first in the broad trends of Thailand's modern political history, and second in the emergence and political evolution of the Bangkok middle class.
Abstract: Thailand is the only country currently ruled by a coup-installed military government. The 2014 coup aimed not only to abolish the influence of Thaksin Shinawatra but also to shift Thailand’s politics in an authoritarian direction. While the army authored the coup, the professional and official elite played a prominent role in engineering the coup and shaping political reforms. This article examines some historical antecedents of this authoritarian turn, first in the broad trends of Thailand’s modern political history, and second in the emergence and political evolution of the Bangkok middle class.
54 citations
TL;DR: The relationship between monarchy and military represents a parallel state, whereas the ideology, rituals and processes within this relationship result in what can be termed a “monarchised military.” The purpose of this nexus is to sustain a palace-centered order from which the military obtains legitimacy as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: This paper argues that conventional notions of Thailand’s military must be re-examined because they misrepresent the military’s role in politics. Instead of examining its material interests, one must also scrutinise the power and legitimacy of Thailand’s armed forces in terms of its connection to monarchy over time. The relationship between monarchy and military represents a “parallel state”, whereas the ideology, rituals and processes within this relationship result in what can be termed a “monarchised military.” The purpose of this nexus is to sustain a palace-centred order from which the military obtains legitimacy. From 1991 until 2014, the monarchised military mostly operated behind a defective democracy, although it occasionally carried out coups to re-assert the palace’s authority. Its more recent political intrusions have enhanced the military’s power on Thailand’s political stage. Civilian prime ministers have unsuccessfully sought to reign in the military, but to no avail owing to the ar...
50 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss the implementation of privatisation in Myanmar and its merits and drawbacks in terms of its merits or drawbacks, as well as questions around implementation in the country.
Abstract: Privatisation is often contentious yet in Myanmar it has not so much been its merits or drawbacks that have attracted attention as questions around implementation. In Myanmar, the implementation of...
48 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the relationship between colonial power and scientific knowledge is analysed and the specific focus is on untangling the contested and symbiotic connections between colonialism and the emergence and consolidation of aspects of botanical science.
Abstract: In this article, the multifaceted relationship between colonial power and scientific knowledge is analysed. The specific focus is on untangling the contested and symbiotic connections between colonialism and the emergence and consolidation of aspects of botanical science. Colonial imperatives and the social consequences of colonial rule in India constituted the context for the idea and project of botanical gardens that facilitated the global transfer of a variety of plants to India. It was in the process of dealing with the problems of the transfer of plants across very diverse ecological and social contexts that natural history was eventually transformed into formal botanical science both in India and in Europe. Particular forms of scientific knowledge and institutions were indispensable for the consolidation of empire even as they facilitated new imperial concerns and projects that constituted the structural context for the development of new forms of scientific knowledge, practices, institution...
44 citations
TL;DR: For decades Singapore's ruling elite has sought to legitimate its rule by claiming to be a talented and competent elite that has made Singapore an exception among its neighbours - an exemplar of success and progress in a sea of mediocrity as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: For decades Singapore’s ruling elite has sought to legitimate its rule by claiming to be a talented and competent elite that has made Singapore an exception among its neighbours – an exemplar of success and progress in a sea of mediocrity. In this article it is contended that this basis of legitimation has been irreversibly damaged. In essence, it is suggested that the governing People’s Action Party has lost control of the national narrative, and its achievements are increasingly regarded as being “ordinary” by the electorate. The mystique of exceptionalism, which was the basis on which the government was widely presumed to be above the need for close scrutiny and accountability, has collapsed. This collapse has substantially levelled the political playing field, at least in terms of expectations and assumptions. The government can and probably will continue to win elections and rule through its control of the instruments of institutional power, but the genie of scepticism and accountability has ...
36 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, an empirical study of the behaviour of functional constituency legislators and policy outputs after 1997 is presented, showing that the functional constituency as a corporatist structure introduced many sector-oriented demands.
Abstract: Extant Hong Kong studies have under-stated the corporatist nature of the Hong Kong state. From the 1980s, as part of its political strategy, the Chinese government had helped to build a corporatist state in Hong Kong that incorporated various sectoral elites, leading to a change in the role of the state after 1997. Through an empirical study of the behaviour of functional constituency legislators and policy outputs after 1997, this article shows that the functional constituencies as a corporatist structure introduced many sector-oriented demands. These sectoral representatives lobbied for favourable polices, increased representation for their sectors, and more state resources. This drove the post-1997 Hong Kong state to sectoral intervention, as resources were diverted to selected sectors, creating new legitimacy problems for the regime.
36 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss the promises and problems of the automobile in Vietnam and discuss the reasons for the relative failure of the car ownership in the country, arguing that the failure is linked to weaknesses in Vietnamese development strategies, but also to the potential problems an expansion in car ownership would lead to.
Abstract: The private car comes with promises of modernity and comfortable mobility for the growing middle class in Vietnam. Vietnam’s government has also targeted the domestic automobile industry as a “spearhead industry” in an attempt to achieve industrial upgrading. Paradoxically, the government is simultaneously restraining the market for this industry through imposing high taxes and fees on cars, making them available only to a limited number of people. This article discusses the promises and problems of the automobile in Vietnam. It analyses policies related to the development of the automobile industry, and discusses the reasons for the relative failure of the project. The article argues that the failure is linked to weaknesses in Vietnamese development strategies, but also to the potential problems an expansion in car ownership in Vietnam would lead to. The article contends that the car represents a development dilemma between industrialisation and urban mobility, and that environmental, energy and ...
35 citations
TL;DR: The authors examines various aspects of this tumultuous period and the authoritarian turn in Thai politics, examining some of the theoretical and conceptual analysis of Thailand's politics and critiquing the basic assumptions underlying the modernisation and hybrid regimes perspectives that have tended to dominate debates on democratisation.
Abstract: Thailand’s politics from the mid-2000s has seen considerable conflict and contestation, with seven prime ministers, two military coups, and scores of deaths from political violence. This article, as well as introducing the eight articles in the Special Issue, examines various aspects of this tumultuous period and the authoritarian turn in Thai politics. It does this by examining some of the theoretical and conceptual analysis of Thailand's politics and critiquing the basic assumptions underlying the modernisation and hybrid regimes perspectives that have tended to dominate debates on democratisation. While the concepts of bureaucratic polity and network monarchy shed light on important political actors in Thailand, they have not grappled with the persistence of authoritarianism. In theoretical terms, the article suggests that it is necessary to understand historically specific capitalist development as well as the social underpinnings that establish authoritarian trajectories and reinforce the ten...
33 citations
TL;DR: In Malaysia's 2013 general election, a fledgling opposition coalition had inspired public confidence of its capacity to competently rule while public discontent with the ruling party was rife due to the ubiquity of patronage that had prevented the responsible implementation of policies.
Abstract: Before Malaysia’s 2013 general election, one of the few remaining dominant coalitions in the world was aware it would struggle to retain power. A fledgling opposition coalition had inspired public confidence of its capacity to competently rule while public discontent with the ruling party was rife due to the ubiquity of patronage that had prevented the responsible implementation of policies. However, regime change did not occur. How does the protracted rule of Malaysia’s Barisan Nasional coalition, and the hegemonic party in it, the United Malays National Organisation, relate to debates over authoritarian durability, during a period when dominant parties struggle to sustain power? Malaysian elections have been free enough that the opposition has been able to obtain and retain control of state governments, so why has Barisan Nasional not lost power? This article reviews the 2013 election examining three issues: the significance of coalition politics; how policies have shaped voting trends; and the ...
TL;DR: In this article, a Tobit regression analysis of full-time workers' hours reveals that employers and self-employed people work longer hours than hired workers across this region, despite this convergence, there is a contrast across occupations.
Abstract: Working long hours has become a routinised part of life in East Asia. The different patterns of overtime across this region are understudied, however. This study represents a first systematic attempt to analyse overtime and its determinants in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and China by testing hypotheses that specify the distinctive influences of employment status and job contracts on work hours. Class exploitation, post-industrialism and flexibility theories are mobilised to identify distinctive but supplementary factors in long working hours. Using data from a recent four-country survey, a Tobit regression analysis of full-time workers’ hours reveals that employers and self-employed people work longer hours than hired workers across this region. Despite this convergence, there is a contrast across occupations. In Japan, overtime is positively associated with occupational prestige, while a reverse pattern operates in China, where low-skilled workers work more overtime. Contract workers in the privat...
TL;DR: Acemoglu et al. as mentioned in this paper argue that resistance to democratisation will be stronger where inequality is high, and the existence of the prospering "1%" and the emergence of the second-tier wealthy may corroborate their claim.
Abstract: Acemoglu and associates argue that resistance to democratisation will be stronger where inequality is high. Piketty shows that shifts at the upper end of the distribution may be historically more significant than overall measures of inequality. In Thailand, the high level of income inequality has eased slightly since 2000, but there is a “1% problem” as peak incomes are growing faster than the average. Newly available data show that inequality of wealth is very high. At the top of the wealth pyramid, family holdings of commercial capital are growing. A significant proportion of top entrepreneurs have emerged within the past generation. A second tier of the wealth elite has developed over the past generation from rising property values, financial investments and professional incomes. Although their individual wealth is much less than the corporate elite, their numbers are much greater. The existence of the prospering “1%” and the emergence of the second-tier wealthy may corroborate Acemoglu’s propo...
TL;DR: A lack of consensus around basic "rules of the game" among elites and civil societal groups renders the country highly volatile and unstable as mentioned in this paper, and violence has been all too evident in recent political disputes.
Abstract: Thailand’s politics is in a fragile state. A lack of consensus around basic “rules of the game” among elites and civil societal groups renders the country highly volatile and unstable. Violence has been all too evident in recent political disputes. The February 2, 2014 elections witnessed a significant change in the pattern of electoral violence. It changed from targeted killings among rival candidates to mob violence aimed at disrupting the electoral processes and institutions. The degree of violence was the highest in the country’s electoral history. Urban middle class protesters, mobilised as the People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) employed violent tactics to disrupt electoral voter registration, voting and vote counting activities. Six million registered voters were affected by the closure of polling stations. The PDRC’s animosity towards the election marked an unprecedented development. By disrupting the election, it rejected the peaceful and democratic way for the public to decide wh...
TL;DR: This paper argued that the Indonesian version of exceptionalism has unwittingly legitimised some fundamental deviations from internationally well-established practices in global constitutionalism as the post Suharto Indonesia proceeds to “electoralise” its public life.
Abstract: Rather than producing a new liberal democracy, Indonesia’s sudden democratising process that started in 1998 has produced a mere electoral democracy. This commentary argues that this situation cannot be separated from the preservation of the Five Principles, or the Pancasila, in the political reform agenda (reformasi). In this case, the Indonesian version of exceptionalism (national self-righteousness) has unwittingly legitimised some fundamental deviations from internationally well-established practices in global constitutionalism as the post Suharto Indonesia proceeds to “electoralise” its public life. Indonesia’s version of exceptionalism might best be described in an unabated conviction about the inviolable nature of Pancasila in national political life and beyond. This Pancasila delusion has gone further with the introduction of some legal efforts to prosecute any sacrileges against it. To make matters worse, this delusional conviction in Pancasila has stubbornly featured in Indonesia’s polit...
TL;DR: Park et al. as mentioned in this paper argue that the Park administration's policies resonate with contemporary discussions of post-democratisation, a process whereby social rights are increasingly subordinated to market logics and state power insulated from popular challenges.
Abstract: This article analyses the disputed election of President Park Geun-hye and her administration’s confrontation of left-nationalist politicians and other social movements during her first year in office. We argue that the Park administration’s policies resonate with contemporary discussions of “post-democratisation,” a process whereby social rights are increasingly subordinated to market logics and state power insulated from popular challenges. Under the conservative governments of Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye, this process has been animated by a mode of confrontation known in South Korea as “politics by public security.” This politics targets social conflict and political dissent as threats to national security and has involved both illegal interventions by state institutions – such as the 2012 electoral interference by state agencies including the National Intelligence Service – and a cultural politics that affirms but revises the narrative of Korean democratisation by obfuscating the nature of...
TL;DR: In this paper, the concept of "reign-seeking" was proposed to capture the unprecedented collective action of the Thai professional and official elite prior to the 2014 military coup and the establishment of a military regime.
Abstract: This article develops the concept of “reign-seeking” to capture the unprecedented collective action of the Thai professional and official elite prior to the 2014 military coup and the establishment of a military regime. It argues that this phenomenon reflects broad and deep political dynamics, for which the dominant scholarship on authoritarianism and Thai politics cannot adequately explain. The changing incentives of these supposedly non-partisan actors are interwoven with neo-liberal governance reform driven by a desire for depoliticisation and the minimisation of rent-seeking. This idea has been rationalised in Thailand since the promulgation of the 1997 Constitution resulting in the rise of technocratic and judicial bodies designed to discipline elected politicians and political parties. However, such institutional reconfigurations have consolidated the incentive for people considering themselves to be prospective candidates to “reign” in these organisations. As evident in the 2014 coup, these...
TL;DR: While Vietnam’s developments since doi moi have attracted a great deal of scholarly attention as discussed by the authors, we still know little about Vietnamese politics with the deepening of economic reforms and increased p
Abstract: While Vietnam’s developments since doi moi have attracted a great deal of scholarly attention, we still know little about Vietnamese politics With the deepening of economic reforms and increased p
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that Fragmented and decentralised global production and the rapid growth of consumer markets in emerging economies demand a more centralized and decentralized industrial development process, and propose a more efficient industrial development model.
Abstract: Globalisation has challenged the way industrial development takes place. Fragmented and decentralised global production and the rapid growth of consumer markets in emerging economies demand a more ...
TL;DR: Zhang et al. as discussed by the authors focused on local understandings and ideals about political roles and relationships, as constructed through everyday political claims and practices, and drew on qualitative research in four villages in Yunnan, southwest China.
Abstract: Villages in China are, according to recent law, “self-governed” by villager committees, whose members are elected by villagers and held accountable to villagers and villager representative assemblies. Previous studies have focused on the institutions of self-government, assuming that, if unimpeded, they will enhance both direct villager participation in governance and the representation of villager interests. In contrast, this article focuses on local understandings and ideals about political roles and relationships, as constructed through everyday political claims and practices. The article draws on qualitative research in four villages in Yunnan, southwest China. In these villages, neither cadres nor villagers used the word “represent” to characterise the role of members of village government. Furthermore, villagers could not explain what villager representatives do or what “representative” in the title “villager representative” means. This leads us to ask: How do village residents conceive the ...
TL;DR: In this article, the underlying economic, social and political processes that contributed to democratic progress in rural areas of northeast Thailand were analyzed, where rural dwellers played an important role in anti-coup activities and actively demanded for democratic rule.
Abstract: This article analyses the underlying economic, social and political processes that contributed to democratic progress in the rural areas of northeast Thailand. After the 2006 military coup villagers in the region played an important role in anti-coup activities and actively demanded for democratic rule. To defend democratic rule, villagers not only opposed military intervention but also challenged elites, who they considered had masterminded the coup. The coup was a landmark change in terms of the relationship between the highest authority in Thailand and the rural masses. According to the Thai hierarchical order, villagers are regarded as inferior who must obey the elite. Any action that does not conform to this rule is considered morally wrong and to be punished. Why did rural dwellers dare to engage openly in political action that defied the hierarchical order? To comprehend such actions the article examines structural changes in Thailand’s countryside that released villagers from traditional b...
TL;DR: In this article, a study of hometown associations has been conducted on their political and electoral participation, focusing on their social and cultural activities, but little research has been done on their electoral participation.
Abstract: The study of hometown associations has been traditionally focused on their social and cultural activities, but little research has been conducted on their political and electoral participation. The direct elections held for the Legislative Assembly in September 2013 in the Macao Special Administrative Region were characterised by the emergence of a clear triangular relationship between casino interests, Fujianese tongxianghui (a hometown association or an interest group with members sharing the same locality ties) and electoral politics. The prominent victory of an electoral group led by the Fujianese tongxianghui and represented under the umbrella of the United Citizens Association of Macao (UCAM) was unprecedented in Macao’s political participation and historical development. As a community leader of the Fujian community, Chan Meng Kam formed the UCAM to perform multiple functions: protecting his casino interests, articulating the interests of the Fujianese and the society vis-a-vis the casino s...
TL;DR: In this paper, a case study of a network of development actors associated with a public and influential Community Organisation Development Institution (CODI) was used to explore the democratic discourses that prevail in Thailand's civil society and their implications.
Abstract: Thailand’s civil society has contributed to the country’s democratic regression. Underlying this political position are redefined meanings of democracy. This article seeks to shed light on these intriguing positions and processes by exploring the democratic discourses that prevail in Thailand’s civil society and their implications. The article does this by using a case study of a network of development actors associated with a public and influential Community Organisation Development Institution (CODI) organisation. It is found that democratic discourses are associated with a preoccupation with the sense of collective identity, defined through civil society’s communitarian vision. This preoccupation influenced their political emphasis on promoting “collective virtues.” It is argued that these discourses limit the democratic potential of Thailand’s civil society in a number of ways. First, they facilitate the building of connections between civil society and conservative elites. Second, the discour...
TL;DR: A detailed account of such a project of world market regionalism developed over the last two decades at the Asian Developme... is given in this paper, where the focus is on the purposive transformation of the region in pursuit of global competitiveness.
Abstract: Accounts of the “new regionalism” two decades ago identified a growing trend towards co-ordinated state action at the regional level in pursuit of both security and political economy concerns – new in terms of its “bottom-up” character, post-Cold War logic, heterogeneous focus, and relation to globalisation. More recently, proponents of “regulatory regionalism” have suggested that regional projects reshape and transform states themselves. This article identifies an emerging “world market regionalism,” within which regions are addressed in terms of their position within the world market, and regional projects are strategically oriented towards the “completion of the world market” in its dual aspect as expansion of trade and transformation of social relations of production. The focus is on the purposive transformation of the region in pursuit of global competitiveness. A detailed account is given of such a project of world market regionalism developed over the last two decades at the Asian Developme...
TL;DR: In this paper, Beeson and Li argue that as China's leaders acquire a broad international agenda, many of the political values, policy goals, and policies of their predecessors are lost.
Abstract: In this authoritative survey of power maximisation and strategic calculation, Beeson and Li argue that, as China’s leaders acquire a broad international agenda, many of the political values, policy...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a study of Asia's developmental states under the uneven processes of neo-liberalisation as they unfold on, through and around the state. And they draw a vivid picture of the deepening Neo-liberal agendas in the region; their ideational evolution; transformation of the reach, forms, and functions of a developmental state operating in this changing environment; and the implications for social and political relations in Asia.
Abstract: transformation of Asia’s developmental states under the uneven processes of neo-liberalisation as they unfold on, through and around the state. The chapters are well connected, while each is still a self-contained study that offers original and detailed insights into the case presented. Together they draw a vivid picture of the deepening neo-liberal agendas in the region; their ideational evolution; transformation of the reach, forms and functions of a developmental state operating in this changing environment; and the implications for social and political relations in the region. The book could have benefited from a theoretical chapter tying these contributions together. In the first chapter, the editors briefly touch upon the way key historical junctures have been conceptualised by new institutional (neo-)liberalism, developmental statism and neo-Marxist critical political economy. Yet an overall theoretical roadmap – placing the contributions in a more nuanced framework – would have substantially enhanced the contribution of the book in its fields of study. In addition, albeit rhetorically paying tribute to the role of institutions, the contributions to this volume do not always seem to treat institutions seriously. Perhaps a more engaged treatment of the new institutionalist literature would have been useful in this regard. Overall, the book is a useful and substantial contribution to the debate on the subject matter and is recommended for those with interests in political economy, human geography, politics of development and public policy, or for those with an area-specific interest, or perhaps a more specific interest in the debates on the role, form and function of states in economic development under late capitalism.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined upgrading in the information and communications technology value chain through changes in the product quality of parts and components (PNC) exports from ASEAN to China and the influence of these changes on their ICT trade with China.
Abstract: The rise of China increased competition for foreign direct investment and exports for the ASEAN economies. It also increased ASEAN trade with China. But, are ASEAN countries able to move up the value chain in their trade with China? The objectives of this article are to examine upgrading in the information and communications technology (ICT) value chain through changes in the product quality of parts and components (PNC) exports from ASEAN to China and the influence of these changes on their ICT trade with China. The main findings indicate that there is little or no product upgrading in the most important SITC 776 sub-component of the PNC exports from the four major ASEAN economies (ASEAN-4) to China after 2005. It is also found that improvements in product quality are more apparent for SITC 772 but this product group constitutes a small share in total manufactured exports from the ASEAN-4 to China. Lastly, with little or no product upgrading, exporters from the ASEAN-4 have shifted to exports of ...
TL;DR: This is a paperback version costing a mere £30 of the earlier library copy of 2012 sold at £100, composed by Van Zanden, an internationally famous economist, Professor at Utrecht University well kn...
Abstract: This is a paperback version costing a mere £30 of the earlier library copy of 2012 sold at £100, composed by Van Zanden, an internationally famous economist, Professor at Utrecht University well kn...
TL;DR: In this article, a qualitative study, based on 38 interviews, concludes that the corporate culture was an attractive proposition for lawyers from non-elite backgrounds; however, the commodification of offshored work led to a depro...
Abstract: Legal process outsourcing (LPO) refers to the contracting of legal work from regions where it is costly to perform, such as the US to areas where it can be performed at a significantly decreased cost. LPO has been made possible by the disaggregation of the legal processes into discrete units, each of which can then outsourced to cheaper service providers. Anecdotal evidence suggests a variety of benefits such as financial gains, opportunities to perform “global” work in a corporate atmosphere and acquisition of important skills and training that enhances the prestige of the host country lawyers. In India, which has played a significant role, LPO firms are viewed as important catalysts in the transformation of the country’s highly stratified legal profession based on social identities. This qualitative study, based on 38 interviews, concludes that the corporate culture was an attractive proposition for lawyers from non-elite backgrounds; however, the commodification of offshored work led to a depro...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine contemporary Vietnamese state legislation regarding upland livelihoods and explore the opinions of those charged with the implementation of these decrees from in-depth interviews with state officials in Ha Giang Province.
Abstract: Macro-level policies frequently transform and reconfigure local livelihood options. While there is a small but growing body of ethnographic work regarding ethnic minority livelihoods in Vietnam’s mountainous borderlands, there is far less research examining the state decrees and policies implemented there and the opinions of state workers who have to apply them. This article starts to address this gap. First, we examine contemporary Vietnamese state legislation regarding upland livelihoods. We focus on the directions found in 82 livelihood-related state decrees, examining their scope and edicts while critiquing what they overlook regarding upland livelihood needs and approaches. Then, from in-depth interviews with state officials in Ha Giang Province, a mountainous upland region with a proportionately large ethnic minority population, we explore the opinions of those charged with the implementation of these decrees. Building on O’Brien’s earlier work on rightful resistance in China, we suggest tha...