The New Dual State

Judicial Autonomy and Political Control in China

AvYueduan Wang

Inbunden, Engelska, 2026

1 191 kr

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Beskrivning

The New Dual State examines how regimes can institutionalize judicial autonomy without relinquishing ultimate political control. Revising the dual state theory beyond its classical and contemporary formulations, the book proposes the theory of symbiotic dualism, which argues that the consolidation of political authority can clarify and stabilize the boundary between legal order and extralegal authority, thereby permitting limited judicial independence. Using China as the central case, the book shows how political centralization enabled the regime to insulate judges from local officials, suppress unsanctioned extrajudicial interventions, and channel politically sensitive disputes away from the courts. These measures have produced a system in which courts demonstrate increasing professionalism and autonomy in routine cases, while the regime retains decisive authority over politically salient matters. Grounded in extensive fieldwork and framed by comparative legal theory, the book advances a compelling framework for understanding legality outside the context of liberal democracies.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum:2026-08-31
Vikt:500 g
Format:Inbunden
Språk:Engelska
Antal sidor:200
Förlag:Cambridge University Press
ISBN:9781009661676

Utforska kategorier

Statsvetenskap och politisk teori inom Samhälle och politik
Komparativ rätt inom Juridik
Lag och samhälle inom Juridik

Mer om författaren

Yueduan Wang is Assistant Professor at Peking University's School of Government and Institute of Public Governance. He holds a JD and an SJD from Harvard Law School and specializes in comparative constitutional law and judicial politics. He is the author of Experimentalist Constitutions: Subnational Innovations in China, India, and the United States (Harvard, 2024). His research on China's political–legal system and its comparative significance has appeared in leading journals, including the International Journal of Constitutional Law, American Journal of Comparative Law, Regulation & Governance, Law & Social Inquiry, University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law, and The China Quarterly.

Recensioner i media

'More than a study of China's legal system, The New Dual State is an important contribution to comparative constitutional theory, offering a sophisticated and empirically grounded modification of Ernst Fraenkel's foundational work to identify the conditions under which an authoritarian state can create a judicial system that stably decides ordinary cases according to law rather than the rulers' prerogative.' Mark Tushnet, William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law, Emeritus, Harvard Law School

Innehållsförteckning

Part I. Foundations: 1. Autonomy in duality; 2. The Chinese case; Part II. Autonomy Through Discipline: 3. Insulating the judges: judicial centralization and accountability reforms; 4. 'Rule of law is the new political line': Party campaigns against extrajudicial intervention; 5. Institutionalizing exception: formalizing political control over the courts; Part III. Depoliticization Through Dejudicialization: 6. Taming legal mavericks: containment and cooptation of court-based resistance; 7. From courtroom to neighborhood committee: diverting disputes from legal channels; Part IV. Conclusions: 8. The political logic of the new dual state; Epilogue: comparative reflections; Data and methodology; Glossary; Chronology; Bibliography; Index.