TR Voluntas D0I10.1007/s11266-015-9610-2 CrossMark INTERNATIONAL SOCIETT FOR THIRD-SECTOR RESEARCH ORIGINAL PAPER Becoming Public:Tactical Innovation in the Beijing Anti-domestic Violence Movement Stephanie BrauerI International Society for Third-Sector Research and The Johns Hopkins University 2015 Abstract Since 2011,a new mobilization strategy has emerged in the Beijing anti- domestic violence (ADV)movement:performance art public interest advocacy, consisting of live performances in public places for public audiences (A CDB special report,2013).Drawing on the social movement literature,particularly concepts of political opportunity and mobilizing structure,framing strategy,and tactical innovation (Political process and the development of black insurgency, 1930-1970,2nd edn,1999;Dynamics of contention,2001),this article investigates the following questions:What was the rationale behind the introduction of per- formance art advocacy into the tactical repertoire of Beijing ADV organizations, and what impact has this tactic had on the Beijing ADV movement?Based on content analysis of 14 semi-structured interviews with ADV movement activists and media reports,it will illustrate that this innovative strategy relied heavily on pro- fessional Beijing ADV organizations;performance art public interest advocacy broadened and mobilized the Beijing ADV movement to work toward improved legal protections against DV,triggered nationwide responses,and improved citi- zens'awareness of DV. Resume Depuis 2011,une nouvelle strategie de mobilisation a vu le jour dans le mouvement de lutte contre la violence familiale de Beijing:la defense de I'interet public des performances artistiques,qui consiste en cing spectacles donnes dans des lieux publics pour des audiences publiques (CDB 2013).S'appuyant sur les litteratures en faveur des mouvements sociaux,en particulier les notions d'oppor- tunite politique et les structures de mobilisation,I'encadrement de strategies et ☒Stephanie Brauer braeuer@uni-muenster.de EFESEIIS-Project,Research Training Group Risk and East Asia,Institute of Political Science, University of Muinster,Schlossplatz 2,Munster,Germany Published online:24 June 2015 ②Springer
ORIGINAL PAPER Becoming Public: Tactical Innovation in the Beijing Anti-domestic Violence Movement Stephanie Bräuer1 © International Society for Third-Sector Research and The Johns Hopkins University 2015 Abstract Since 2011, a new mobilization strategy has emerged in the Beijing antidomestic violence (ADV) movement: performance art public interest advocacy, consisting of live performances in public places for public audiences (A CDB special report, 2013). Drawing on the social movement literature, particularly concepts of political opportunity and mobilizing structure, framing strategy, and tactical innovation (Political process and the development of black insurgency, 1930–1970, 2nd edn, 1999; Dynamics of contention, 2001), this article investigates the following questions: What was the rationale behind the introduction of performance art advocacy into the tactical repertoire of Beijing ADV organizations, and what impact has this tactic had on the Beijing ADV movement? Based on content analysis of 14 semi-structured interviews with ADV movement activists and media reports, it will illustrate that this innovative strategy relied heavily on professional Beijing ADV organizations; performance art public interest advocacy broadened and mobilized the Beijing ADV movement to work toward improved legal protections against DV, triggered nationwide responses, and improved citizens’ awareness of DV. Résumé Depuis 2011, une nouvelle strate´gie de mobilisation a vu le jour dans le mouvement de lutte contre la violence familiale de Beijing: la de´fense de l’inte´reˆt public des performances artistiques, qui consiste en cinq spectacles donne´s dans des lieux publics pour des audiences publiques (CDB 2013). S’appuyant sur les litte´ratures en faveur des mouvements sociaux, en particulier les notions d’opportunite´ politique et les structures de mobilisation, l’encadrement de strate´gies et & Stephanie Bra¨uer braeuer@uni-muenster.de 1 EFESEIIS - Project, Research Training Group Risk and East Asia, Institute of Political Science, University of Mu¨nster, Schlossplatz 2, Mu¨nster, Germany 123 Voluntas DOI 10.1007/s11266-015-9610-2
Voluntas I'innovation tactique (McAdam 1999;McAdam et al.(2001),cet article etudie les questions suivantes:quelle etait la logique de I'introduction de la defense des performances artistiques dans le repertoire tactique des organisations de lutte contre la violence familiale de Beijing,et quel a ete I'impact de cette tactique sur le mouvement de lutte contre la violence familiale de Beijing.Reposant sur I'analyse du contenu des 14 entrevues semi-structurees aupres des militants des mouvements de lutte contre la violence familiale et de rapports de medias,il illustrera que cette strategie innovante s'est fortement appuyee sur des organisations professionnelles de lutte contre la violence familiale de Beijing,que la defense de I'interet public des performances artistiques a elargi et mobilise ce mouvement pour cuvrer en faveur de meilleures protections legales contre la violence familiale,a declenche des reactions dans tout le pays et ameliore la prise de conscience des citoyens envers la violence familiale. Zusammenfassung Seit 2011 hat sich eine neue Mobilisierungsstrategie in der Pekinger Bewegung gegen hausliche Gewalt aufgetan:eine offentliche Interessen- vertretung,die darstellende Kunst nutzt und offentliche Live-Veranstaltungen an offentlichen Platzen durchfuhrt (CDB 2013).Beruhend auf der Literatur zur sozialen Bewegung und insbesondere auf den Konzepten der politischen Opportu- nitats-und Mobilisierungsstruktur,der Framing-Strategie und taktischer Innovation (McAdam 1999;McAdam et al.2001)diskutiert dieser Beitrag die folgenden Fragen:Was waren die Gruinde dafuir,eine Interessenvertretung,die darstellende Kunst anwendet,in das taktische Repertoire der Pekinger Organisationen gegen hausliche Gewalt aufzunehmen und wie hat sich diese Taktik auf die Pekinger Bewegung gegen hausliche Gewalt ausgewirkt?Anhand einer Inhaltsanalyse von 14 semi-strukturierten Befragungen von Aktivisten der Bewegung gegen hausliche Gewalt und beruhend auf Medienberichten wird gezeigt,dass diese innovative Strategie stark auf die professionellen Pekinger Organisationen gegen hausliche Gewalt angewiesen waren.Die darstellende Kunst einsetzende offentliche Interes- senvertretung erweiterte und mobilisierte die Pekinger Bewegung gegen hausliche Gewalt in Richtung eines verbesserten Rechtsschutzes fuir Opfer hauslicher Gewalt, loste landesweite Reaktionen aus und erhohte das Bewusstsein der Buirger uber hausliche Gewalt. Resumen Desde 2011,ha surgido una nueva estrategia de movilizacion en el movimiento contra la violencia en el hogar de Pekin (anti-domestic violence "ADV"):defensa del interes publico mediante las artes escenicas,consistente en actuaciones en vivo en lugares publicos para audiencias publicas (CDB 2013). Recurriendo al material publicado sobre movimientos sociales,en particular los conceptos de oportunidad politica y estructura de movilizacion,estrategia de enmarque e innovacion tactica (McAdam 1999;McAdam et al.2001),el presente articulo investiga las siguientes cuestiones:i.Cual fue la justificacion subyacente a la introduccion de la defensa mediante las artes escenicas en el repertorio tactico de las organizaciones ADV de Pekin y que impacto ha tenido esta tactica en el movi- miento ADV de Pekin?Basandose en el analisis de contenido de 14 entrevistas semiestructuradas con activistas del movimiento ADV e informes de medios de Springer
l’innovation tactique (McAdam 1999; McAdam et al. (2001), cet article e´tudie les questions suivantes: quelle e´tait la logique de l’introduction de la de´fense des performances artistiques dans le re´pertoire tactique des organisations de lutte contre la violence familiale de Beijing, et quel a e´te´ l’impact de cette tactique sur le mouvement de lutte contre la violence familiale de Beijing. Reposant sur l’analyse du contenu des 14 entrevues semi-structure´es aupre`s des militants des mouvements de lutte contre la violence familiale et de rapports de me´dias, il illustrera que cette strate´gie innovante s’est fortement appuye´e sur des organisations professionnelles de lutte contre la violence familiale de Beijing, que la de´fense de l’inte´reˆt public des performances artistiques a e´largi et mobilise´ ce mouvement pour œuvrer en faveur de meilleures protections le´gales contre la violence familiale, a de´clenche´ des re´actions dans tout le pays et ame´liore´ la prise de conscience des citoyens envers la violence familiale. Zusammenfassung Seit 2011 hat sich eine neue Mobilisierungsstrategie in der Pekinger Bewegung gegen ha¨usliche Gewalt aufgetan: eine o¨ffentliche Interessenvertretung, die darstellende Kunst nutzt und o¨ffentliche Live-Veranstaltungen an o¨ffentlichen Pla¨tzen durchfu¨hrt (CDB 2013). Beruhend auf der Literatur zur sozialen Bewegung und insbesondere auf den Konzepten der politischen Opportunita¨ts- und Mobilisierungsstruktur, der Framing-Strategie und taktischer Innovation (McAdam 1999; McAdam et al. 2001) diskutiert dieser Beitrag die folgenden Fragen: Was waren die Gru¨nde dafu¨r, eine Interessenvertretung, die darstellende Kunst anwendet, in das taktische Repertoire der Pekinger Organisationen gegen ha¨usliche Gewalt aufzunehmen und wie hat sich diese Taktik auf die Pekinger Bewegung gegen ha¨usliche Gewalt ausgewirkt? Anhand einer Inhaltsanalyse von 14 semi-strukturierten Befragungen von Aktivisten der Bewegung gegen ha¨usliche Gewalt und beruhend auf Medienberichten wird gezeigt, dass diese innovative Strategie stark auf die professionellen Pekinger Organisationen gegen ha¨usliche Gewalt angewiesen waren. Die darstellende Kunst einsetzende o¨ffentliche Interessenvertretung erweiterte und mobilisierte die Pekinger Bewegung gegen ha¨usliche Gewalt in Richtung eines verbesserten Rechtsschutzes fu¨r Opfer ha¨uslicher Gewalt, lo¨ste landesweite Reaktionen aus und erho¨hte das Bewusstsein der Bu¨rger u¨ber ha¨usliche Gewalt. Resumen Desde 2011, ha surgido una nueva estrategia de movilizacio´n en el movimiento contra la violencia en el hogar de Pekı´n (anti-domestic violence “ADV”): defensa del intere´s pu´blico mediante las artes esce´nicas, consistente en actuaciones en vivo en lugares pu´blicos para audiencias pu´blicas (CDB 2013). Recurriendo al material publicado sobre movimientos sociales, en particular los conceptos de oportunidad polı´tica y estructura de movilizacio´n, estrategia de enmarque e innovacio´n ta´ctica (McAdam 1999; McAdam et al. 2001), el presente artı´culo investiga las siguientes cuestiones: ¿Cua´l fue la justificacio´n subyacente a la introduccio´n de la defensa mediante las artes esce´nicas en el repertorio ta´ctico de las organizaciones ADV de Pekı´n y que´ impacto ha tenido esta ta´ctica en el movimiento ADV de Pekı´n? Basa´ndose en el ana´lisis de contenido de 14 entrevistas semiestructuradas con activistas del movimiento ADV e informes de medios de Voluntas 123
Voluntas comunicacion,se ilustrara que esta estrategia innovadora se baso enormemente en las organizaciones ADV profesionales de Pekin;la defensa del interes publico mediante las artes escenicas amplio y movilizo al movimiento ADV de Pekin para trabajar hacia una mejora de las protecciones legales contra la violencia en el hogar, activo respuestas a nivel nacional y mejoro la concienciacion de los ciudadanos sobre la violencia en el hogar. Keywords Beijing ADV movement.Mobilization process.Tactical innovation. Civic engagement.Domestic violence Introduction Domestic violence (DV)is a severe problem in the People's Republic of China (PRC),with prevalence rates between 24.7 and 54.6%depending on the study (All China Women's Federation(Quanguo Fulian)2011,p.4).Since 1995,bolstered by the efforts of Beijing anti-domestic violence (ADV)organizations,the issue slowly received more attention-not only from the public,but also from policy makers- and legal protection against DV has improved since.Nonetheless,the PRC still has no specific DV law.In April 2013,the National People's Congress (NPC)finally stated that ADV legislation would be included in a review of pivotal laws that year (制定反家暴力法)，3 prompting ADV activists to believe that such a law would soon become reality (Interview 1). Despite sensitization to DV among the public,the lack of legal protection from DV and a perceived unwillingness of the party-state to sufficiently support ADV organizations forced such organizations to invent new tactics.The latest of these is performance art advocacy,which has become part of Beijing ADV organizations' mobilization since 2011.It centers on live performance in public spaces for a public audience (Guo et al.2013),thus differing significantly from traditional advocacy tools such as lobbying (Wang 2012),seminars for policy elites,or legal recommendations.Performance art advocacy is an inclusive strategy and holds the potential to receive broad media coverage due to its public event character;as such,it is an apt tool to raise public awareness and rally support for policy reforms. Domestic violence refers in the PRC context mostly to three sets of actions:physical violence 力)，psychic violence(精神暴力)，and/or sexual violence(性暴力).For an in-depth discussion,.see Zhang and Meng (2004). 2 Beijing anti-domestic violence organizations are often working on several issues relating to women's or human rights.The mobilization for improved legal protection against DV is one priority among many.In this article,anti-domestic violence organizations are abbreviated to ADV organizations. 3 C.f.working plan of the NPC:http://www.npe.gov.cn/npc/xinwen/syxw/2013-04/27/content_1793635. htm,accessed 4th May 2014. 4 A list of all interviews cited in this article can be found in the Appendix. 5 In this article,performance art public interest advocacy is abbreviated to performance art advocacy. Advocacy is understood in this article as performed by organizations and individuals who exist primarily to promote a common good that extends beyond the narrow economic or sectarian goal of organizations' members and supporters(Heaney 2007).As such,it refers not only to policy advocacy,but also to the setting of public agendas and the mobilization for public support. ②Springer
comunicacio´n, se ilustrara´ que esta estrategia innovadora se baso´ enormemente en las organizaciones ADV profesionales de Pekı´n; la defensa del intere´s pu´blico mediante las artes esce´nicas amplio´ y movilizo´ al movimiento ADV de Pekı´n para trabajar hacia una mejora de las protecciones legales contra la violencia en el hogar, activo´ respuestas a nivel nacional y mejoro´ la concienciacio´n de los ciudadanos sobre la violencia en el hogar. Keywords Beijing ADV movement · Mobilization process · Tactical innovation · Civic engagement · Domestic violence Introduction Domestic violence (DV)1 is a severe problem in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), with prevalence rates between 24.7 and 54.6 % depending on the study (All China Women’s Federation (Quanguo Fulian) 2011, p. 4). Since 1995, bolstered by the efforts of Beijing anti-domestic violence (ADV) organizations,2 the issue slowly received more attention—not only from the public, but also from policy makers— and legal protection against DV has improved since. Nonetheless, the PRC still has no specific DV law. In April 2013, the National People’s Congress (NPC) finally stated that ADV legislation would be included in a review of pivotal laws that year (制定反家暴力法),3 prompting ADV activists to believe that such a law would soon become reality (Interview 14 ). Despite sensitization to DV among the public, the lack of legal protection from DV and a perceived unwillingness of the party-state to sufficiently support ADV organizations forced such organizations to invent new tactics. The latest of these is performance art advocacy,5 which has become part of Beijing ADV organizations’ mobilization since 2011. It centers on live performance in public spaces for a public audience (Guo et al. 2013), thus differing significantly from traditional advocacy tools such as lobbying (Wang 2012), seminars for policy elites, or legal recommendations. Performance art advocacy is an inclusive strategy and holds the potential to receive broad media coverage due to its public event character; as such, it is an apt tool to raise public awareness and rally support for policy reforms. 1 Domestic violence refers in the PRC context mostly to three sets of actions: physical violence (身体暴 力), psychic violence (精神暴力), and/or sexual violence (性暴力). For an in-depth discussion, see Zhang and Meng (2004). 2 Beijing anti-domestic violence organizations are often working on several issues relating to women’s or human rights. The mobilization for improved legal protection against DV is one priority among many. In this article, anti-domestic violence organizations are abbreviated to ADV organizations. 3 C.f. working plan of the NPC: http://www.npc.gov.cn/npc/xinwen/syxw/2013-04/27/content_1793635. htm, accessed 4th May 2014. 4 A list of all interviews cited in this article can be found in the Appendix. 5 In this article, performance art public interest advocacy is abbreviated to performance art advocacy. Advocacy is understood in this article as performed by organizations and individuals who exist primarily to promote a common good that extends beyond the narrow economic or sectarian goal of organizations’ members and supporters (Heaney 2007). As such, it refers not only to policy advocacy, but also to the setting of public agendas and the mobilization for public support. Voluntas 123
Voluntas Performance art advocacy in ADV mobilization has been perceived to be independent from organizations (Wang 2012).However,contrary to Man's finding, my own research shows that such advocacy is largely initiated,coordinated,and supported by ADV organizations.It has also been claimed that performance art advocacy would receive broad media coverage and would thus support activists' cause (Wang 2012).However,as I will show,coverage in official media remained moderate.Furthermore,while performance art advocacy is supposed to mobilize broad public support,it is not immediately clear how and why broad social backing can enable such mobilization in a semi-authoritarian political environment characterized by a one-party system. What was the rationale behind the introduction of performance art advocacy into the tactical repertoire of Beijing ADV organizations,and what impact has this tactical innovation on the Beijing ADV mobilization in general?To address these questions,I will draw on two case studies from within the Beijing ADV movement: the Injured Brides'activism and the activism accompanying the final court hearing of Kim Lee's divorce case.The data gained through a survey of media reports in both case studies are complemented by semi-structured interviews with activists from Beijing's ADV organizations and analyzed using content analysis with ex-ante fixed analytical categories.The effects of performance art as tactical innovation will also be assessed through a sample analysis of relevant media coverage. In the remainder of this article,I will use the theoretical concepts of opportunity structure,mobilizing structures,framing strategy,and tactical innovation(McAdam 1999,1996;McAdam et al.2001;Benford and Snow 2000)to explore the mobilization of social actors for better legal protection against DV.I will then provide a brief overview of the development of Beijing ADV organizations' mobilization and DV legislation in the PRC,before turning to the description of both cases of performance art advocacy.Against this background,I will analyze the mobilizing structure and the framing of these activist events,before turning to a discussion of the effects of this tactical approach.I will conclude by contextualizing the findings alongside the development of civic engagement in Beijing. The Political Environment and the Emergence of Opportunities for Social Action The political environment forms an external factor to (collective)social actors' mobilization.It shapes the political opportunity structure (POS),the specific configurations of resources,institutional arrangements,and historic precedents for social mobilization (Kitschelt 1986),which provide opportunities to act and influence policy as well as a conducive context for the claims that actors make (Meyer 2004).Possible opportunities within the political environment create potential for the exercise of political leverage by challenging social actors (McAdam 1997,p.340).Social actors are only able to mobilize if the POS is conducive.The PRC today is characterized by its semi-authoritarian context (Ho 6 Kim Lee's role in the mobilization process will be discussed in the following paragraphs. 2Springer
Performance art advocacy in ADV mobilization has been perceived to be independent from organizations (Wang 2012). However, contrary to Man’s finding, my own research shows that such advocacy is largely initiated, coordinated, and supported by ADV organizations. It has also been claimed that performance art advocacy would receive broad media coverage and would thus support activists’ cause (Wang 2012). However, as I will show, coverage in official media remained moderate. Furthermore, while performance art advocacy is supposed to mobilize broad public support, it is not immediately clear how and why broad social backing can enable such mobilization in a semi-authoritarian political environment characterized by a one-party system. What was the rationale behind the introduction of performance art advocacy into the tactical repertoire of Beijing ADV organizations, and what impact has this tactical innovation on the Beijing ADV mobilization in general? To address these questions, I will draw on two case studies from within the Beijing ADV movement: the Injured Brides’ activism and the activism accompanying the final court hearing of Kim Lee’s divorce case.6 The data gained through a survey of media reports in both case studies are complemented by semi-structured interviews with activists from Beijing’s ADV organizations and analyzed using content analysis with ex-ante fixed analytical categories. The effects of performance art as tactical innovation will also be assessed through a sample analysis of relevant media coverage. In the remainder of this article, I will use the theoretical concepts of opportunity structure, mobilizing structures, framing strategy, and tactical innovation (McAdam 1999, 1996; McAdam et al. 2001; Benford and Snow 2000) to explore the mobilization of social actors for better legal protection against DV. I will then provide a brief overview of the development of Beijing ADV organizations’ mobilization and DV legislation in the PRC, before turning to the description of both cases of performance art advocacy. Against this background, I will analyze the mobilizing structure and the framing of these activist events, before turning to a discussion of the effects of this tactical approach. I will conclude by contextualizing the findings alongside the development of civic engagement in Beijing. The Political Environment and the Emergence of Opportunities for Social Action The political environment forms an external factor to (collective) social actors’ mobilization. It shapes the political opportunity structure (POS), the specific configurations of resources, institutional arrangements, and historic precedents for social mobilization (Kitschelt 1986), which provide opportunities to act and influence policy as well as a conducive context for the claims that actors make (Meyer 2004). Possible opportunities within the political environment create potential for the exercise of political leverage by challenging social actors (McAdam 1997, p. 340). Social actors are only able to mobilize if the POS is conducive. The PRC today is characterized by its semi-authoritarian context (Ho 6 Kim Lee’s role in the mobilization process will be discussed in the following paragraphs. Voluntas 123
Voluntas and Edmonds 2008;Guiheux and Kuah 2009;Zhao 2001,2010).Semi-authoritarian regimes are ambiguous systems that combine rhetorical acceptance of liberal democracies,the existence of some formal democratic institutions,and respect for a limited sphere of civil and political liberties with essentially authoritarian traits Such regimes are determined to maintain the appearance of democracy without exposing themselves to the political risk that free competition entails (Ottaway 2003,p.3).In the PRC today,we find such a situation,with formal state limitations on freedom of association and speech alongside increased social spaces for civic and voluntary action (Ho and Edmonds 2008).This context is characterized by a duality: it is simultaneously restrictive and conducive to nationwide collective action (Ho 2007,p.189).Its restrictive nature is characterized by a power asymmetry favoring state actors over (challenging)collective social actors,as state actors remain the unchallenged setters of the 'rules of the game'(Hildebrandt 2013,p.15). Conversely,the PRC's polity can be conducive to collective action because the boundaries between official and non-state organizations are becoming increasingly blurred,leading to the development of increased opportunities for social actors (Ho 2007,pp.189).This trend toward increased space for social actors began with the Reform and Open Policies initiated at the end of the 1970s by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).Until these reforms,social activism was only permitted under the leadership of official party-state mass organizations (Ma 2009).The reforms were predominantly economic rather than political (Wesoky 2002,p.8), which is commonly situated as a reason for the Tiananmen upheaval in 1989 (Esherick and Wasserstrom 1994).Nonetheless,these reforms-with their shifts of responsibility from state to social actors (individual and collective)-led to increased space for social actors to not only engage in social service provision (Fulda et al.2012),but also to function as advocates (Guo et al.2013)and advisors in the policy formulation process (Yang and Alpermann 2014).These positive developments,interrupted by the political consequences of the Tiananmen incident, received a further boost through the Fourth World Conference on Women(FWCW 一第四届世界妇女大会)，held in 19995 in Beijing.In the aftermath of Tiananmen, the CCP actively embraced the FWCW to ease criticism and legitimacy crises abroad and at home (Wesoky 2002).Until then,DV had occasionally been addressed by the CCP,but most related activities were superficial public displays of goodwill rather than attempts to actively ameliorate the issue(Milwertz 2003).Due to the sensitivity of the issue-not only among the general public but also among the still heavily patriarchal Chinese polity-ADV organizations and activists felt that they were barred (Interview 7)from using tactics employed by organizations in other fields.At the FWCW,DV was situated as a core issue and broadly discussed by international scholars,including-for the first time-both Chinese practitioners and scholars (UN Women Fourth World Conference;Interview 2).All of these 7 The soci-political turmoils of the 1950-1970sand deeply rooted patriarchal traditions meant that early attempts to ameliorate DV in the PRC came to nothing (Milwertz 2003).The PRC is still a predominantly patriarchal society characterized by a patrilineal kinship system and social organizations and patrilocal post-residence patterns(Du 2011,p.2).The patriarchal gender system of the (Han)Chinese is intertwined with the CCP's politics.As a result,traditional practices of gender inequality have (re-) emerged in new forms during the post-socialist era(Du 2011,p.4). ②Springer
and Edmonds 2008; Guiheux and Kuah 2009; Zhao 2001, 2010). Semi-authoritarian regimes are ambiguous systems that combine rhetorical acceptance of liberal democracies, the existence of some formal democratic institutions, and respect for a limited sphere of civil and political liberties with essentially authoritarian traits. Such regimes are determined to maintain the appearance of democracy without exposing themselves to the political risk that free competition entails (Ottaway 2003, p. 3). In the PRC today, we find such a situation, with formal state limitations on freedom of association and speech alongside increased social spaces for civic and voluntary action (Ho and Edmonds 2008). This context is characterized by a duality: it is simultaneously restrictive and conducive to nationwide collective action (Ho 2007, p. 189). Its restrictive nature is characterized by a power asymmetry favoring state actors over (challenging) collective social actors, as state actors remain the unchallenged setters of the ‘rules of the game’ (Hildebrandt 2013, p. 15). Conversely, the PRC’s polity can be conducive to collective action because the boundaries between official and non-state organizations are becoming increasingly blurred, leading to the development of increased opportunities for social actors (Ho 2007, pp. 189). This trend toward increased space for social actors began with the Reform and Open Policies initiated at the end of the 1970s by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Until these reforms, social activism was only permitted under the leadership of official party-state mass organizations (Ma 2009). The reforms were predominantly economic rather than political (Wesoky 2002, p. 8), which is commonly situated as a reason for the Tiananmen upheaval in 1989 (Esherick and Wasserstrom 1994). Nonetheless, these reforms—with their shifts of responsibility from state to social actors (individual and collective)—led to increased space for social actors to not only engage in social service provision (Fulda et al. 2012), but also to function as advocates (Guo et al. 2013) and advisors in the policy formulation process (Yang and Alpermann 2014). These positive developments, interrupted by the political consequences of the Tiananmen incident, received a further boost through the Fourth World Conference on Women (FWCW —第四届世界妇女大会), held in 1995 in Beijing. In the aftermath of Tiananmen, the CCP actively embraced the FWCW to ease criticism and legitimacy crises abroad and at home (Wesoky 2002). Until then, DV had occasionally been addressed by the CCP, but most related activities were superficial public displays of goodwill rather than attempts to actively ameliorate the issue7 (Milwertz 2003). Due to the sensitivity of the issue—not only among the general public but also among the still heavily patriarchal Chinese polity—ADV organizations and activists felt that they were barred (Interview 7) from using tactics employed by organizations in other fields. At the FWCW, DV was situated as a core issue and broadly discussed by international scholars, including—for the first time—both Chinese practitioners and scholars (UN Women Fourth World Conference; Interview 2). All of these 7 The socio-political turmoils of the 1950s–1970s and deeply rooted patriarchal traditions meant that early attempts to ameliorate DV in the PRC came to nothing (Milwertz 2003). The PRC is still a predominantly patriarchal society characterized by a patrilineal kinship system and social organizations and patrilocal post-residence patterns (Du 2011, p. 2). The patriarchal gender system of the (Han) Chinese is intertwined with the CCP’s politics. As a result, traditional practices of gender inequality have (re-) emerged in new forms during the post-socialist era (Du 2011, p. 4). Voluntas 123