Chinese Journal of Sociology ›› 2016, Vol. 36 ›› Issue (3): 110-139.

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Organizational Mobilization, Action Strategy, and Opportunity Structure: Analysis on Factors Affecting the Result of Homeowners' Collective Action

SHENG Zhiming   

  1. School of Sociology and Political Science, Shanghai University
  • Online:2016-05-20 Published:2016-05-20
  • Supported by:

    This research is supported by the Youth Project of National Social Science Foundation “The Research on the Effect of City Governance Mode on Community Disputes and Homeowners'Actions”(14CSH065)and Shanghai Training and Support Plan for University Youth Teachers(ZZSD15061).

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Abstract:

In community disputes, why some homeowners' collective actions can success, while others fail? Based on three theoretical dimensions which consist of organizational mobilization, action strategy and opportunity structure, this study systematically examines the effect of five factors on the result of homeowners' collective action by analyzing data collected from 191 cases of homeowners' rights protection activities happened in China between 1999 and 2012. These factors include type of dispute, number of participants, rights-defending method, homeowner organization, and government response. Among them, the homeowner organization and the number of participants reflect homeowners' capability of organizing and mobilizing themselves.The rights-defending method is an important part of homeowners' action strategy. The type of dispute and the government response indicate the opportunity and constrain faced by homeowners. The results show that:(1) Inadministrative disputes and mixed disputes, homeowners are less likely to successfully protect their interests. (2) Mobilizing certain number of participants is conducive for homeowners to achieve a satisfactory result in their collective protest, but it does not mean that the more participants mobilized, the more likely they will succeed. For the cases which relate toimportant public affairs of community, mobilizing enoughhomeowners to reach the necessary quorum of statutory requirement for public decision making is the necessary condition tosuccessfully resolve homeowners' problems.(3) Different kinds of rights protection methods and their combinations can influence the result of homeowners' rights-defending activity. The non-institutionalized and radical actions are not helpful for homeowners to realize their interest claims. In most situations, homeowners, as the moderate middle class, would resort to institutionalized and rational way to protect their interests;(4) A well-functioned homeowners' organization which truly represents the interests of homeowners can significantly increase the success rate of homeowners' collective action. (5) The government maladministration (that is the improper intervention and administrative nonfeasance) severely hinder homeowners from successfully protecting their legitimate rights and interests. It would be hard for homeowners' organization to play their positive role when they encounter the improper reaction of state power. This is the institutional obstacle in homeowners' rights-defending action. These findings, to certainextent, reveal the reality of strong state and weak society in contemporary China.

Key words: property dispute, homeowners' collective action, action strategy, organizational mobilization, opportunity structure