Suzanne E. Scoggins, "Policing China: Street-Level Cops in the Shadow of Protest" (Cornell UP, 2021)
China has the reputation for being a strong security state. After the pro-democracy Tiananmen protests, the Chinese government moved to increase stability maintenance \u2013 and that approach is reflected in today\u2019s suppression of social unrest in Xinjiang where somewhere between 800,000-2 million members of the Uighur minority have been interned in camps. Throughout the country, the government has maintained stability by installing millions of cameras. The Chinese and International press emphasize these actions \u2013 projecting a view of China as a strong security state.\xa0\nBut Suzanne E. Scoggins argues that the decision to prioritize stability maintenance comes at the expense of everyday policing. In remarkable interviews with police officers and analysis of policing journal articles she assesses resource allocation, police reforms, and structural patterns of control \u2013 to find a weak police force unable to protect citizens against violent crime.\xa0Policing China: Street-Level Cops in the Shadow of Protest\xa0(Cornell UP, 2021) provides a surprising \u2013 and more accurate \u2013 understanding of how the police function in China \u2013 how they can be so ineffective at everyday crime management while still being very good at stability maintenance. The podcast includes a remarkable conversation about how research access in China is changing \u2013 as well as the role of the National Committee on US-China Relations.\nDr. Suzanne E. Scoggins\xa0is an Assistant Professor of Political Science and Director of Asian Studies at Clark University. She is also a Public Intellectuals Program Fellow at The National Committee on United States-China Relations.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices\nSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/law