Elite Capture and Corruption: The Influence of Elite Collusion on Village Elections and Rural Land Development in China

Abstract This article presents a qualitative empirical study of elite collusion and its influence on village elections rural land development in China. Drawing ethnographic data collected from two Chinese villages, it investigates how cadres collude with other elites, using bribery, gift-giving lavish banquets, to establish reciprocal ties township officials public officials. Meanwhile, the make use formal organizations corruptly obtain profits form alliances elites. The examines especially cadres, this profit misuse villagers’ collectively owned assets, manipulation suppression anti-corruption protests. It also offers new descriptive evidence recent reforms designed strengthen Party's overall leadership governance may have actually facilitated capture grassroots corruption.