Original
Individualization, Relationships and Collective Action Among Migrants in China: Evidence from Rent Strikes
Abstract
Abstract Based on a field study of the COVID-19 rent reduction actions of a group of self-employed migrants in Zhengzhou, China, this study examines how individualization shaped the relational networks of the migrants, which in turn dynamically influenced the trajectory and outcome of their collective action. The group’s collective action was shaped not by a single relationship but by an instrumental relational network woven from fragmented intra-group ties, fragile local connections, unstable market relations and arms-length government–migrant interactions. The “relational duality” framework proposed here reveals this network’s dual role in contention: shared experiences of external exclusion catalysed internal solidarity and short-term mobilization; however, the network’s inherent instrumentality and vulnerability rendered it highly susceptible to adversaries’ strategic activation of latent competitive boundaries through tactics like co-optation and relational repression, thus triggering a rapid dissolution of solidarity that resulted in the protest fragmenting. These findings enrich an understanding of the micro-dynamics of contentious politics in China and offer a fresh lens for analysing collective action among similar groups that undergo individualization.
中文
中国流动人口的个体化、关系与集体行动：来自罢租的证据
摘要
摘要：基于对中国郑州一群自营流动人口在新冠疫情期间租金减免行动的实地研究，本文考察个体化如何形塑了流动人口的关系网络，进而动态影响其集体行动的轨迹与结果。该群体的集体行动并非由单一关系所形塑，而是由一种工具性关系网络所形塑；该网络由碎片化的群体内部纽带、脆弱的本地联系、不稳定的市场关系以及保持距离的政府—流动人口互动交织而成。本文提出的“关系二元性”框架揭示了这一网络在抗争中的双重角色：外部排斥的共同经历催化了内部团结与短期动员；然而，该网络内在的工具性与脆弱性使其极易受到对手通过吸纳和关系压制等策略对潜在竞争边界的战略性激活，从而引发团结的迅速瓦解，并导致抗议走向碎片化。这些发现加深了对中国抗争政治微观动态的理解，并为分析经历个体化的类似群体的集体行动提供了新的视角。
关键词
个体化、关系网络、集体行动、流动人口、罢租、抗争政治、关系二元性、中国