The Element Composition And Operation Logic Of Rural Governance System From The Perspective Of Structural Functionalism

With the impact of marketization,urbanization,and industrialization,China’s rural society is now increasingly showing the fragmentation: village elites,ordinary villagers,township governments and other governance subjects interact.Collective economic resources,historical human resources,and higher-level government relief resources are integrated.Traditional clan culture is beginning to revive in some villages,while modern democracy and the rule of law are in the ascendant.The functions of existing village organizations are constantly expanding,while new types of village social organizations are emerging.Based on this background,the village can be regarded as a system composed of multiple elements,performing complete functions,and working effectively together.The purpose of this study is to clarify the constituent elements of the village governance system through a thorough understanding of the village’s economic,political,and social environment,and to compare the effective paths of village governance systems based on different governance environments.In this study,two typical Guangdong rural governance innovations,south village and north village,are anonymized and selected as the research objects.Firstly,the literature research method is used to review the academic results of domestic and foreign research on rural governance systems in China and abroad,combined with Parsons,Merton,Giddens’ s structural functionalist theory to determines theoretical basis and the analytical dimensions.Secondly,the case study method is used to conduct field investigations,in-depth interviews and observation experiences in villages,and to analyze rural governance system from governance environment,governance institution construction,governance resource integration and governance culture.Finally,using comparative analysis,it was found that although the structure of the governance systems in two villages is similar,the operating logic is different specifically in governance unit,integration mechanism and value orientation.From above,it is concluded that an effective rural governance system should include four elements: governance environment,governance institution construction,governance resource integration,and governance culture.Village community memory is the social foundation and driving force for the operation of the rural governance system,which will affect the integration of governance resources and the cultivation of governance culture.The village collective economy is the material basis and economic source for the operation of the rural governance system and will affect the construction of the governance institution.This study has some innovations in research topics and perspectives,and has certain reference significance for the construction of the rural governance system in the new era,such as building a rural governance system that is coupled with environment,system,resources and culture,integrating governance resources and cultivating governance culture based on village community memory,unifying collective economic property rights and village governance rights.However,this study also has the limitations of less quantitative data collection,simple dynamic operation analysis,and insufficient number of cases.