Habich-Sobiegalla Sabrina, Plümmer Franziska
Freie Universität Berlin, Germany.
University of Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Secur Dialogue. 2023 Apr;54(2):192-210. doi: 10.1177/09670106221134968. Epub 2022 Dec 6.
This article analyses the organization of Chinese grassroots social management during the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on a range of local cases researched through policy documents, media coverage and interviews, we scrutinize the appropriation of emergency measures and the utilization of grid-style social management since the outbreak of COVID-19. Grid-style social management - a new grassroots administrative division aiming to mobilize neighbourhood control and services - is a core element in China's pursuit of economic growth without sacrificing political stability. Conceptualizing grids as confined spaces of power, we show how the Chinese party-state is able to flexibly redeploy diverse forms of power depending on the particular purpose of social management. During non-crisis times, grid-style social management primarily uses security power, casting a net over the population that remains open for population elements to contribute their share to the national economy. Once a crisis has been called, sovereign power swiftly closes the net to prevent further circulation while disciplinary power works towards a speedy return to a pre-crisis routine.
本文分析了新冠疫情期间中国基层社会治理的组织情况。基于通过政策文件、媒体报道及访谈所研究的一系列地方案例，我们审视了自新冠疫情爆发以来应急措施的运用以及网格化社会治理的实施情况。网格化社会治理是一种旨在调动社区管控与服务的新型基层行政区划，是中国在不牺牲政治稳定的前提下追求经济增长的核心要素。我们将网格概念化为权力的受限空间，展示了中国党政如何能够根据社会治理的特定目的灵活重新部署多种形式的权力。在非危机时期，网格化社会治理主要运用治安权力，对民众进行全面覆盖，同时保持开放以便民众为国民经济贡献力量。一旦宣布进入危机状态，主权权力迅速收紧网络以防止进一步扩散，而规训权力则致力于迅速恢复到危机前的常规状态。
