Citizenship Institutions in Chinese Peasant-Workers’ Everyday Life: Toward a Theory of Citizenship Practice

Abstract

Because of the close relationship between the existence of Chinese peasant workers and state policies, Chinese peasant workers’ citizenship has long been a central problem in the research on this group of people. In previous research, institutional analyses didn’t empirically examine the operation of citizenship, while the empirical investigation of citizen resistance failed to examine the influence of citizenship institutions on peasant workers’ everyday practice. Data from in-depth interviews indicate that relevant citizenship institutions and their changes constitute a part of the peasant-worker labor regime in China, which means that their citizenship has contributed to the long-term existence and the increasing number of this group of workers. First, the citizenship institutions related to peasant workers include differential citizenship, partial citizenship, passive citizenship, and segmented citizenship. Second, these citizenship institutions have shaped their double identities of rural residents and urban guests, which have influenced their motivations and attitudes toward their peasant-worker lifestyle. Finally, the effects of citizenship institutions on peasant workers’ identity, motivation and attitudes are a product of the market logic, which has made them commodify their citizenship. These findings imply a theory of citizenship practice and contribute to the understanding of the phenomenon of Chinese peasant workers.