Civic Engagement of the Middle Class in China: empirical research based on an urban community survey

Content introduction：

Faculty Talk

Topic:  Civic Engagement of the Middle Class in China: empirical research based on an urban community survey

Speaker: WANG Xinsong

Time: January 8, 3-5pm

Location: 2026 The North Main Building

Language: Chinese

About the Talk

Most research on civic engagement of the middle class in China have focused on political participation, and found that the participation level is lower than that of other social classes. Although non-political civic engagement, such as participation in community activities and social organizations, has become an increasingly important way to influence public affairs, the research on such engagement is limited. To be sure, the determinants of political and non-political civic engagement may be the same, but the degree of their impacts on different types of participation behavior might be different, thus generating different behavior characteristics. This study uses a nationwide survey to examine the non-political civic engagement of the urban middle class and tries to compare the levels of participation between the middle class and other social classes and within the middle class. It finds that, although the middle class members may not be interested in political participation, they are more inclined to engage in non-political civic activities. The odds of participation by the middle class members is 1.248 times that of other social class members, although the association is statistically significant only among the lower-income middle class households and among the middle class members employed within the state system (tizhinei), while those beyond the “state system” (tizhiwai) and the wealthier middle class members have yet to demonstrate more active civic engagement. The findings implicate that the middle class is more interested in public affairs and have more socioeconomic resources to support their participation. However, given that many non-political civic engagements opportunities are created by the state, the more active participation by those within the state system (tizhinei) might signify their higher dependence on the system and their protection of self-interests.

About the Speaker

Wang Xinsong is assistant professor of the School of Social Development and Public Policy at Beijing Normal University. His research interests include local governance, civic engagement, political participation and state-society relations in China. His recent research examines and compares how the urban grassroots institutional settings in China and Singapore have affected governance and state-society relations. Wang has taught courses on comparative politics, political development, international politics, Asian politics, and Chinese politics. He received his Ph.D. and M.A. in political science from Georgia State University in the U.S. and his B.A. in English and Diplomacy from Foreign Affairs College in China.