Networks, Civil Associations and the Transformation of Local Governance Space: Homeowners’ Organizations in Urban China

Abstract

Due to the housing reform, a large number of homeowners’ associations have been established in urban China, and they play an increasingly important role in the reconfiguration of neighborhood space and community power structure. This paper examines the function of this kind of civil associations in neighborhood politics and the dynamics of their operation. It finds that, although the establishment of homeowners’ associations was due to the formal institutional change which had been initiated by the state, their actual operation is influenced by local social networks. In other words, through these formal civil associations, informal networks wield influence in local power structure. On the one hand, the existence of informal networks facilitates civil resistance against the domination of local authorities and citizens’ struggle for community autonomy. On the other hand, the extensive deployment of informal networks may lead to the formation of faction politics and oligarchy of a few privileged citizens to the exclusion of other ordinary citizens. The result of these interactions and struggles further shape and reshape neighborhood space. Therefore, informal networks have contextual influence on neighborhood space and local governance.