Yongshun Cai is Professor of Social Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. He is the author of State and Laid-off Workers in Reform China (2006) and Collective Resistance in China (Stanford, 2010).

"This is an important book about an important problem for authoritarian states. Yongshun Cai investigates the empirical pattern of discipline in contemporary China, drawing our attention to cost considerations that mediate sanctioning choices and illuminating the crucial functions of uncertainty and flexibility in effective sanctioning and local policy innovation."—Melanie Manion, University of Wisconsin, Madison "In order to survive, authoritarian regimes need to walk a thin line between sanctioning too many agents and tolerating too much malfeasance. Cai explores the balance the Chinese party system has maintained and the logic behind it. Sanctions are by no means sufficient to clear up corruption and other malfeasance, but so far they have been sufficient to maintain the system. State and Agents in China is thoroughly researched and persuasively argued."—Joseph Fewsmith, Boston University "Never was a book on the problem of managing party and state agents in China so timely as Yongshun Cai's State and Agents in China."— Flora Sapio, China Information

Yongshun Cai is Professor of Social Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. He is the author of State and Laid-off Workers in Reform China (2006) and Collective Resistance in China (Stanford, 2010).

"This is an important book about an important problem for authoritarian states. Yongshun Cai investigates the empirical pattern of discipline in contemporary China, drawing our attention to cost considerations that mediate sanctioning choices and illuminating the crucial functions of uncertainty and flexibility in effective sanctioning and local policy innovation."—Melanie Manion, University of Wisconsin, Madison "In order to survive, authoritarian regimes need to walk a thin line between sanctioning too many agents and tolerating too much malfeasance. Cai explores the balance the Chinese party system has maintained and the logic behind it. Sanctions are by no means sufficient to clear up corruption and other malfeasance, but so far they have been sufficient to maintain the system. State and Agents in China is thoroughly researched and persuasively argued."—Joseph Fewsmith, Boston University "Never was a book on the problem of managing party and state agents in China so timely as Yongshun Cai's State and Agents in China."— Flora Sapio, China Information

Yongshun Cai is Professor of Social Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. He is the author of State and Laid-off Workers in Reform China (2006) and Collective Resistance in China (Stanford, 2010).

"This is an important book about an important problem for authoritarian states. Yongshun Cai investigates the empirical pattern of discipline in contemporary China, drawing our attention to cost considerations that mediate sanctioning choices and illuminating the crucial functions of uncertainty and flexibility in effective sanctioning and local policy innovation."—Melanie Manion, University of Wisconsin, Madison "In order to survive, authoritarian regimes need to walk a thin line between sanctioning too many agents and tolerating too much malfeasance. Cai explores the balance the Chinese party system has maintained and the logic behind it. Sanctions are by no means sufficient to clear up corruption and other malfeasance, but so far they have been sufficient to maintain the system. State and Agents in China is thoroughly researched and persuasively argued."—Joseph Fewsmith, Boston University "Never was a book on the problem of managing party and state agents in China so timely as Yongshun Cai's State and Agents in China."— Flora Sapio, China Information