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Fissures between Human Rights Advocates and NGO Practitioners in China's Civil Society: A Case Study of the Equal Education Campaign, 2009–2013

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 April 2018

Mujun Zhou
Mujun Zhou*
Affiliation:
Zhejiang University. Email: mujunzhou@zju.edu.cn.
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Abstract

This article uses a case study to analyse the fissures between human rights advocates and NGO practitioners. Since 2009, the Open Constitution Initiative, an organization run by human rights advocates, has been campaigning for migrant children's right to attend local schools. While fragmented resistance on the same issue has long existed in activities organized by migrant community NGOs, there has been almost no cooperation between the two parties during the campaign. Based on ethnographic research, I elaborate on how these two groups of activists differ in their strategies and goals, and how their choices are related to their understanding of political struggle and political transformation. I contend that this case provides a new lens through which to view the recent decline in some human rights activism in China, and illustrates the importance of investigating the internal structure of civil society.

摘要

本文通过一个个案来分析维权律师和 NGO 从业者之间的裂痕。从 2009 年起，公盟，一个维权律师的组织，领导了一场呼吁流动儿童教育权利的运动。虽然扎根于流动人口社区的 NGO 早就已经开展过不少针对这一议题的反抗活动，在这次运动中，两种组织之间并没有形成任何合作。基于田野调查资料，本文展开了两种活动家在策略和运动目标选择中的差异，以及这些选择与他们对于政治斗争、政治变迁的理解的关系。这个个案为我们理解近期中国维权运动的衰落提供了一个新的视角，同时显示了考察公民社会内部结构的重要性。

Keywords

civil societyhuman rights lawyerChinaNGOmigrant childrenequal education公民社会维权律师NGO; 流动儿童教育公平
Type
Research Article
Information
The China Quarterly , Volume 234 , June 2018 , pp. 486 - 505
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Copyright
Copyright © SOAS University of London 2018 

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