Unlocking the Hegemonic Power of ‘The People's Democratic Dictatorship’

This article explores the relationship between the Chinese state and civil society by juxtaposing the experiences of the Uygur ethnic group of Xinjiang province against the country's environmentally focused social organisations. It analyses the reasons behind the failure or success of each movement as defined by their ability to create a counter-hegemony, where subordinate groups challenge a system in which the interests of one section of society organise, in Gramscian terms, the majority of people's common sense. This article bases the creation of successful counter-hegemony on two premises: first is the suggestion that the key to developing an effective civil society is its contribution to the prevailing political agenda. The second premise is the implication that if a social movement is to succeed against a prevailing hegemonic power, it must in some capacity, align itself with the prevailing interests and then co-opt them to forward its own agenda, constructing ‘good sense’ from ‘common sense’. Both the Uygur and the green movements are reviewed in their capacity to align with the interests of the Chinese Communist Party-led state, of which three components are identified: (1) the party line; (2) national security; and (3) prevailing international power structures. In identifying these three factors that shape the interests of the state, they become focal points around which social groups can adapt and manipulate to create a counter-hegemony. Thus, these three features become prongs of a key that can unlock the hegemonic power of the Chinese state. The implication of this article is that there are certain avenues for creating successful counter-hegemonic civil society movements, even where the state is most repressive.