Chinese Journal of Sociology

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The Danger of “Despotism”: The Rural Order Reflected in Violent CrimesOn “State Laws vs. Folk Laws”

Author：Chu Huijuan，Department of Sociology, Peking University   

  • Online:2012-05-20 Published:2012-05-20
  • Contact: Author：Chu Huijuan，Department of Sociology, Peking University E-mail:chu.huijuan@gmail.com
  • Supported by:

    The paper was supported by MDE Project of Key Research Insitirite of Humanities and Social Sciences at Universities,“Research on Disputed Resolution Model from Perspective of Sociology of Law” (08JJD840186).

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Abstract:

The investigation of the violent crimes that had turned civil cases to criminal cases in four prisons in Northeast China has discovered a special kind of disputes in Rural China. Its extensive occurrence signifies failure of the orderrestorative power of folk forces in specific contexts. This kind of disputes has not yet been dealt with or taken in by the state legal system. This paper analyzes seven cases in depth to reveal the realistic picture of the rural order behind disputes of this kind. Contrary to the assumptions of the traditional folk legal theories, the “external nature” in the state legal order provides a feasible channel for the increasing number of “strangers” to obtain protection. However, execution of the state laws depends upon the political operations at the local level, whose coordinating role relies upon the cooperation of the folk order. Failure of the folk order in mediating disputes forces state laws to intervene directly to the individuals’ actual needs but the ineffectiveness in the intervention in turn heightens the disappointment of the individuals in the state laws. Meanwhile, the close ties between the state legal system and the local political operations are likely to lead to suspicion of the independence of the state laws. In such a context, “despotism” may turn up to endanger the rural society. The powerful persons may use the state’s power that can penetrate and control society to undermine the power of the traditional order in a topdown fashion but at the same time they may undermine the legitimacy of the state’s legal order in a bottomup fashion via the same origin shared by the state laws and the state power.

Key words:  rural order, violent crime , state law , folk law , despotism