The Politics of Migration: Urbanization and Life Opportunities in Contemporary China

Based on extensive fieldwork and longitudinal studies, this book posits that the household registration (hukou) system is a fundamental institutional arrangement in contemporary China. It employs the theoretical framework of local citizenship to analyze the rights and conditions of the migrant population amidst urbanization. Local citizenship functions as both a governance classification and a qualification for access to public resources, influencing not only migration patterns but also the social mobility of various migrant classes. Importantly, the widely discussed education policies for migrant children are part of a broader framework of national migrant management and local industrial policies.

Yihan Xiong is a professor and doctoral supervisor in the School of International Relations and Public Affairs at Fudan University, Shanghai, China. He received his Ph.D. (2009) in Political Science from Fudan University. His main research interests include political sociology and comparative politics, with recent focus on class politics, social governance, and digital governance. He has published over 70 papers in academic journals such as China Quarterly, Security Studies, Citizenship Studies, Eurasian Geography and Economics, Japanese Journal of Political Science, and Journal of Chinese Governance.