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An analysis of the relationship between associations and civil society in China requires an understanding of three categories of factors and how they interact. 1 First, there are global factors common to most countries regardless of their developmental level, such as the increasing importance of technology and the specialization of knowledge and interests. Second, there are factors shared by many developing countries, such as democratization and the decentralization of state control. And third, there are factors specific to China, such as the role of the family and traditional Chinese culture.

This study treats the development of associations both as the result of increased specialization and the arrival of the information age in China, and also as the cause and the effect of increasing democratization and economic decentralization. It also examines the form and behaviour of China’s associations as they are modified by …