The Development of Grand Mediation and Its Implications for China’s Regime Resilience: The Li Qin Mediation Office

Abstract

Grand Mediation (GM) is a new conflict management mechanism initiated by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to cope with rapidly growing social conflict and maintain social stability. This article examines how GM operates in an urban grassroots environment and discusses its advantages for managing social conflicts as reflected in a cases study: the Li Qin mediation office. It concludes that GM may improve the capacity of the local government to engage in conflict resolutions, which confers greater resilience on the authoritarian regime. However, this mechanism is sensitive to changing socio–economic conditions, and its sustainability requires further examination.