Framing the Stability Imperative

The studies in this volume make apparent the activist disposition of China’s legal institutions in the era of Harmonious Society and Stability Maintenance. This disposition has enabled the Party-state to legitimize important changes in the practices and policies of courts, governments and security organs on the basis of a certain political narrative about the imperative of social stability. Political narrative, expressed particularly through Harmonious Society and Stability Maintenance discourse, has enabled the Party-state to reframe and reformulate justice and security practices to accommodate its place in leading the country through uncertain times of social upheaval that accompanies rapid economic growth