Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Nongovernmental China: 300 Million Migrant Workers And The Ngo Response, Ian Dorfman

Anthropology Theses and Dissertations

Based on seventy weeks of field research in Beijing and Shenzhen, as well as a review of relevant literature, this dissertation explores the role of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in creating and redefining local economic relationships with China’s 300 million internal migrant workers. The founders/directors of these organizations run programs to improve migrants’ access to legal aid, education, and sense of community. Their perspectives, experiences, and decision-making provide significant insights into China’s paradoxical relationship with its migrant workers as well as changing state-society relations in the transition to capitalism.