Rescaling the socialist state: Territorial politics and city-region restructuring in Maoist China

Abstract

State rescaling has become one major framework for deciphering the changing state-space nexus of modern states. While conventional wisdom has regarded state rescaling as a fix to manage recurring crises of capitalism, its contradiction-ridden political dynamics are still poorly grasped, especially in the non-Western context. This paper critically engages the debate by focusing on the interactions between key state actors in national and local political arenas who embrace distinctive strategies to reconfigure territorial arrangement. Borrowing insights from the research of territorial politics, I argue that the alignment of diverse territorial strategies creates opportunities for broad political collaboration and competition that eventually lead to state rescaling. To illustrate such political dynamics, this paper presents a novel investigation of the restructuring of city-regions during Maoist China through extensive historical research. In the late 1950s, the shared frustration with Soviet-influenced central planning resulted in a coalition between change-oriented central and local leaders. The coalition rolled out an alternative territorial strategy that shifted powers from planners to those who dared to try bold initiatives and look beyond local boundaries. Shanghai, among other major Chinese cities, resumed its status as the national industrial champion and exerted control over rural hinterlands as the seat of power for the city-region. Although short-lived, the brief attempt at state rescaling has left a lasting impact on the reconfiguration of the territorial governance and city-regions in post-reform China.