Abstract
Today, China is one of the greatest economical powers in the world; it has risen, in less than a century, from an underdeveloped country to a major player in the global order. Having achieved economical growth, China now faces many issues that will need sorting in order to ensure social peace inside its borders. Indeed, the political questions are more prone to come back now that the economy is back on tracks and with the influence of globalisation and the western values it brings along.
I believe that the question of democratization is quite crucial for China now that there is a quite a solid middle class, which is usually responsible for the transition towards democracy in authoritarian countries. The meaning of democracy can be quickly summarized as: “a mode of decision making about collectively binding rules and policies over which the people exercise control, and the most democratic arrangements is that where all members of the collectivity enjoy effective equal rights to take part in such decision makings directly – one, that is to say, which realises to the greatest conceivable degree on the principles of popular control and equality in its exercise” (Beetham 1992). This is the very essence of the principle of grass rooting democracy, introducing local elections and direct decision making: making the people in charge of its own predicament.
This democratization is in a way already at work in the PRC thanks for instance to local elections, new laws about natural rights and the strong desire to clean the state apparatus of corruption. But there is still a long way to go and that is where the importance of a strong civil society comes in handy, indeed, it is a key factor to the evolution of the regime. Without a strong will of the people to take charge of its predicament and influence the evolution of the government, the transition to democracy will be much slower.
To resume, I will ask myself in this paper two main questions: What is the prospect on china's democratization and how does the rise of a civil society play a part in this process? And I will study this rise of the civil society through homeowners' resistance, a phenomenon that is growing in the PRC today and that reflects quite well this “new” involvement of the citizens
