Peasant conflict and the local predatory state in the Chinese countryside

Observing the growing number and intensity of peasant struggles in the Chinese countryside, examined here is why Chinese peasants protest against township government but not against the central state. It is argued that two decades of a neoliberal project, plus recent policy changes, have led to the formation of a split state, one divided between a‘benign’ centre and a‘predatory’ local apparatus. This split state has in turn shaped the contours of peasant conflict.