Meetings: The Operation of Grassroots Political Power in the Northwest Shanxi Anti-Japanese Base Area
开会: 晋西北抗日根据地基层政权的运行机制
Abstract
Grassroot communities are critical fields of governance. To enhance the development of local government and to mobilize, organize, and arm the people to fight against the Japanese invaders, the Communist Party employed a number of methods in the base areas during the Anti-Japanese war. Among them, holding meetings was an effective method to get the work done and to forge leadership in local governance in the base areas, and it built a space of power that incorporated and displayed both group and individual experiences. Though the endless rounds of meetings can be seen as a kind of formalism, they provide a pivotal angle to observe the operation of power in the Northwest Shanxi Anti-Japanese Base Area. For the Communist Party, whose purpose was to reshape the countryside, the implementation of policies was far more important than their formulation. The villages were the critical places where the Party interacted with the people, where most of the meetings occurred, and where most of the policy directives were implemented. Grassroot meetings in the base areas revealed directly the willingness of the people to participate as well as their on-site performance, and indirectly the response of the people toward the Party’s policies and how the Party dealt with that response. Making decisions, mobilizing and organizing the people, and implementing policies were the basic functions of meetings. The establishment of the institution of meetings and the twists and turns of its practice reflected the gaps between the Party’s ideal and practice, and between the Party and the people.
摘要
基层社会历来是国家治理的主要场域。为促进基层政权健康发展，更好地动员、组织、武装群众，使之积极投身抗战，中共在根据地施行了多项举措。其中开会作为一种行之有效的工作方法与领导方式被广泛运用于中共基层政权运行体系，群体经历、个人体验皆全方位地展现于其所建构的权力空间之下。尽管以会议落实会议难以摆脱形式主义之嫌，但这一政治生活的日常景观无疑是观察晋西北抗日根据地基层权力运作的重要窗口。对致力于改造农村根据地的中共来说，政策的贯彻执行远比其制定环节重要得多，而村庄正是中共与群众互动的元场所，亦是中共召集会议最多最频、进而使其政策指令落地之处。根据地基层会议既直观地展示了群众参会意愿和现场表现，亦间接地呈现了群众对中共政策的回应及中共对群众反应之应对。决策、动员、组织、落实是会议的基本功能，会议制度建立和实践的曲折经历折射出中共在理念与实践、政党与群众之间存在的某些距离。
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Meetings: The Operation of Grassroots Political Power in the Northwest Shanxi Anti-Japanese Base Area
开会: 晋西北抗日根据地基层政权的运行机制
Abstract
Grassroot communities are critical fields of governance. To enhance the development of local government and to mobilize, organize, and arm the people to fight against the Japanese invaders, the Communist Party employed a number of methods in the base areas during the Anti-Japanese war. Among them, holding meetings was an effective method to get the work done and to forge leadership in local governance in the base areas, and it built a space of power that incorporated and displayed both group and individual experiences. Though the endless rounds of meetings can be seen as a kind of formalism, they provide a pivotal angle to observe the operation of power in the Northwest Shanxi Anti-Japanese Base Area. For the Communist Party, whose purpose was to reshape the countryside, the implementation of policies was far more important than their formulation. The villages were the critical places where the Party interacted with the people, where most of the meetings occurred, and where most of the policy directives were implemented. Grassroot meetings in the base areas revealed directly the willingness of the people to participate as well as their on-site performance, and indirectly the response of the people toward the Party’s policies and how the Party dealt with that response. Making decisions, mobilizing and organizing the people, and implementing policies were the basic functions of meetings. The establishment of the institution of meetings and the twists and turns of its practice reflected the gaps between the Party’s ideal and practice, and between the Party and the people.
| All Time | Past Year | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 111 | 111 | 6 |
| Full Text Views | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 4 | 4 | 0 |