Political Struggle, Institutionalization, and the Construction of Workers’ Rights An Analysis of Textile Workers in Tianjin China, 1927-1936

• Published in: Journal of Asian sociology Vol. 50; no. 3; pp. 487 - 512
• Main Authors: Wu, Su, Liu, Neng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Seoul Institute for Social Development and Policy Research (ISDPR) 01.09.2021; 서울대학교 사회발전연구소; Institute for Social Development and Policy Research, Seoul National University; 사회발전연구소
• Subjects: 20th century; Affordable housing; Capitalism; Civil rights; Differentiation; Factories; Industrial development; Industrial organization; Institutionalization; Labor movements; Labor standards; Labor unions; Legislation; Legitimacy; Mobilization; Partisanship; Political change; Political parties; Politics; Power; Resistance; Sociology; Standardization; Textile industry; Workers; Workers' rights; 사회학; Tianjin China; China; institutionalization; the Republic of China; workers’ rights; political process
• ISSN: 2671-4574; 2671-8200
• DOI: 10.21588/dns.2021.50.3.003

The sociological approach to the study of “civil rights” advocates that “rights” be regarded as a kind of system and practice and focuses on how it is social generated. This article examines the process in which workers’ rights, as the contractual relationship between the modern state and the worker group, gradually emerged and were reproduced. Based on the perspective of the political process, this article attempts to provide clues to answer this question by examining the political changes in Tianjin China from 1927 to 1936, workers’ organization in the textile industry, and the labor movement. The differentiation of interests and political struggle among political parties had urged all parties to devote themselves to enhancing their own strength through social mobilization, which in turn promoted the standardization of worker-related legislation and institutionalization of worker resistance. Workers’ protests also affected the efficacy of partisan competition strategies. As a result, “workers’ rights” had been continuously confirmed by various subjects participating in the political game as a bargaining chip to achieve specific goals.