Marriage Unbound
eBook - ePub

Marriage Unbound

State Law, Power, and Inequality in Contemporary China

  1. 344 pages
  2. English
  3. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

Marriage Unbound

State Law, Power, and Inequality in Contemporary China

About this book

China after Mao has undergone vast transformations, including massive rural-to-urban migration, rising divorce rates, and the steady expansion of the country's legal system. Today, divorce may appear a private concern, when in fact it is a profoundly political matter—especially in a national context where marriage was and has continued to be a key vehicle for nation-state building. Marriage Unbound focuses on the politics of divorce cases in contemporary China, following a group of women seeking judicial remedies for conjugal grievances and disputes.

Drawing on extensive archival and ethnographic data, paired with unprecedented access to rural Chinese courtrooms, Ke Li presents not only a stirring portrayal of how these women navigate divorce litigation, but also a uniquely in-depth account of the modern Chinese legal system. With sensitive and fluid prose, Li reveals the struggles between the powerful and the powerless at the front lines of dispute management; the complex interplay between culture and the state; and insidious statecraft that far too often sacrifices women's rights and interests. Ultimately, this book shows how women's legal mobilization and rights contention can forge new ground for our understanding of law, politics, and inequality in an authoritarian regime.

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Yes, you can access Marriage Unbound by Ke Li in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Social Sciences & Courts. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Dedication
  5. Contents
  6. Abbreviations
  7. Figures and Tables
  8. Acknowledgments
  9. Introduction
  10. 1. Audiences, Theoretical Objectives, and Arguments
  11. 2. Marriage on the Move
  12. 3. Disputation as a State Enterprise
  13. 4. The Rise and Fall of Legal Workers
  14. 5. Judging Divorce in the People’s Courts
  15. 6. Onstage and Offstage
  16. 7. Issues and Nonissues
  17. Epilogue
  18. Notes
  19. References
  20. Index