1、3600 英文单词， 1.9 万英文字符 ,中文 6000 字 文献出处： Tomm J. Village and Township Elections in China: Elements of Democratic GovernanceJ. On Politics, 2010, 1(2): 85-96. Village and Township Elections in China Elements of Democratic Governance Jonathan Tomm Introduction Village and township elections in China have
2、 been the focus of much excitement among Western scholars. To many, such elections hold out the promise of genuine democracy taking hold in China, starting at the village level and (as both Western and Chinese democrats hope) one day moving up even to the national level. Others are more skeptical, s
3、uggesting that such elections only entrench the leadership of the Communist Party. This essay will argue that elections in China are a movement toward greater democracy in local governance. The methodology used will be a survey of the Western literature on village and township elections in China, an
4、d engagement with the arguments put forward by scholars in this area. There has been an interesting debate around the meaning of village elections ever since their introduction in 1988. Kelliher, Pastor and Tan, OBrien and Li, and Manion have all presented analyses of village elections, including ob
5、servations of actual electoral practice, and more importantly, reflection on the relationship of such elections to Communist Party leadership.1 Recent elections of township heads and township party secretaries have caused further debate. Fan Li and Lianjiang Li examine the politics of introducing to
6、wnship elections, again with a view toward prospects for further democratization in China. Saich and Yang describe other innovations in township cadre selection, which, unlike direct election, are still considered “legal” by the Party centre.3 Finally, Fewsmith describes changes toward more openness to independent nominations and campaigning in party congress elections.4 Most of the sources above provide nuanced commentary on the relationship of elections in China to the possible emergence o
