Outsourcing Repression

"A granular, documented, and persuasive analysis of how authoritarian control is maintained on a quotidian basis in Xi's China. Lest we ever doubt that all authoritarian regimes operate 'outside' even their own hand-tailored, legal order, this fine study closes the case. A discerning examination of the atomization, perversion, and cooptation of what might otherwise be a mobilized, autonomous civil society." -- James C. Scott, Yale University "Outsourcing Repression is a fascinating study of an important but underexplored issue about state control in ChinaDLoutsourcing state repression to non-state actors. Analytically rigorous, this book uncovers how the state exercises its everyday coercion by securing the collaboration of social actors, mainly thugs-for-hire and brokers. This is an important book that sheds new light on the coercive power of authoritarian states." -- Yongshun Cai, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology "Ong provides what's likely to be the definitive account of socialized repression in contemporary China. That the state uses third parties to extend its power down to the grassroots (and to avoid backlash) is one of the key features of China's hardening authoritarianism, and a development of great importance to China scholars and comparativists alike." -- Kevin J. O'Brien, University of California, Berkeley "Outsourcing Repression is a captivating study of China's use of, and interactions with, nonstate actors as a means to consolidate its control over its population." -- Europe-Asia Studies "The book makes significant contributions to our understanding of power struggles in China's forced demolition and land-grabbing and the nature of everyday state power. It will be of interest to readers from political science, sociology, criminology, urban studies and China studies." -- Jianhua Xu, The China Quarterly