Environmental Protest and the Greening of the State

Abstract

Environmental social movements emerged at the national level in communist Poland, but not in the People's Republic of China. One little-understood reason for this difference is that the Chinese communist regime is far more decentralized than its counterpart in communist Poland was. Claimants in China tend to organize their collective actions around specific, localized issues rather than focus on a common, unifying target that might facilitate nationwide mobilization.