Citation
Zhao, Rong & Lilly, Adam G. (2022). The Role of State Mobilization for Volunteerism in China. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 51(6), 1304-1323. PMCID: PMC9757824Abstract
Research on China’s volunteerism highlights the state as a major force in mobilizing volunteer participation. Nevertheless, limited quantitative research exists documenting the extent to which Chinese volunteers are connected to the state system. Using a nationally representative dataset, the 2012 Chinese General Social Survey, this study examines how an individual’s employment affiliation with state-controlled institutions influences their probability to volunteer. The results show that the Chinese government not only directly mobilizes employees of the state system to volunteer but also has significant influence over the general population’s volunteering. This influence is mainly through the existence of Chinese Communist Party chapters in every corner of society, as well as the state’s direct and indirect control over social organizations that organize volunteer activities. We thus question the extent to which volunteerism in China is truly voluntary and call for more critical analysis of this issue.URL
https://doi.org/10.1177/08997640211057458Reference Type
Journal ArticleYear Published
2022Journal Title
Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector QuarterlyAuthor(s)
Zhao, RongLilly, Adam G.