‘Law Does Not Come Down From Heaven’: Youth Legal Socialisation Approaches in Chinese Textbooks of the Xi Jinping Era

‘Law Does Not Come Down From Heaven’: Youth Legal Socialisation Approaches in Chinese Textbooks of the Xi Jinping Era

Citation:

2022. “‘Law Does Not Come Down From Heaven’: Youth Legal Socialisation Approaches in Chinese Textbooks of the Xi Jinping Era.” Journal of Current Chinese Affairs, 1-27.

Abstract:

Schools constitute key sites for legal socialisation, the process whereby youth develop
their relationship with the law. Yet, what does legal socialisation entail in the context
of an authoritarian party-state such as China? The article examines this question by analysing Chinese citizenship education textbooks of the Xi era. The study finds that China’s current textbooks contain elements associated with both a coercive and a consensual approach to legal education. Nonetheless, it is the consensual orientation that receives greater stress, as the books highlight the positive benefits of legal compliance and
endorse the idea that youth should advance beyond the external supervisory stage to
the self-discipline level of legal consciousness. Reflecting the attempt of the Chinese
Communist Party leadership to draw on legality as a key source of legitimacy, this
approach is nonetheless undermined by the propagandist tone of the textbooks and
their ambiguous messages regarding citizens’ ability to challenge China’s existing laws.

Publisher's Version

Last updated on 08/18/2022

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2022. “‘Law Does Not Come Down From Heaven’: Youth Legal Socialisation Approaches in Chinese Textbooks of the Xi Jinping Era.” Journal of Current Chinese Affairs, 1-27. Publisher's Version Abstract

Naftali, Orna. 2021. “Celebrating Violence? Children, Youth, and War Education in Maoist China (1949–1976).” The Journal of the History of Childhood and Youth 14 (2): 254-273. Publisher's Version

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Naftali, Orna. 2020. “Youth Military Training in China: Learning to ‘Love the Army’.” Journal of Youth Studies 24 (9). Publisher's Version Abstract

Schools worldwide have long engaged in various forms of ‘war education’. In China, an extensive ‘Patriotic Education’ campaign and an expanded ‘National Defense Education’ curriculum have led to an increase in youth-oriented military programs in the 2000s. Previous work on the implementation of these programs in Chinese schools has mostly focused on urban elite youth, while overlooking the reception of these programs by non-urban, non-elite populations. The present study addresses this issue by examining youth perceptions and experiences of military training courses in urban and rural high schools. Drawing on the analysis of Chinese publications in the 2000s and on data from field interviews with students of different backgrounds, the study finds that youth military training constitutes a contentious program. Although the Chinese government promotes the program as crucial for military strengthening and the fostering of a patriotic spirit, PRC academic and media writers provide alternative rationales for the program, which at times undermine the logic of government articulations. Meanwhile, interviews with youth document divergent attitudes and even resentment towards the program, especially among city youth. This finding casts doubt on the assumption that military-training courses necessarily contribute to the increased ‘militarization’ of Chinese youth and education.

Schools worldwide have long engaged in various forms of ‘war education.’ In China, an extensive ‘Patriotic Education’ campaign and an expanded ‘National Defense Education’ curriculum have led to an increase in youth-oriented military programs in the 2000s. Previous work on the implementation of these programs in Chinese schools has mostly focused on urban elite youth, while overlooking the reception of these programs by non-urban, non-elite populations. The present study addresses this issue by examining youth perceptions and experiences of military training courses in urban and rural high schools. Drawing on the analysis of Chinese publications in the 2000s and on data from field interviews with students of different backgrounds, the study finds that youth military training constitutes a contentious program. Although the Chinese government promotes the program as crucial for military strengthening and the fostering of a patriotic spirit, PRC academic and media writers provide alternative rationales for the program, which at times undermine the logic of government articulations. Meanwhile, interviews with youth document divergent attitudes and even resentment towards the program, especially among city youth. This finding casts doubt on the assumption that military-training courses necessarily contribute to the increased ‘militarization’ of Chinese youth and education.

Dr. Orna Naftali

Senior Lecturer, Department of Asian Studies

‘Law Does Not Come Down From Heaven’: Youth Legal Socialisation Approaches in Chinese Textbooks of the Xi Jinping Era

Citation:

Abstract:

Recent Publications