Ethan Michelson. “Lawyers, Political Embeddedness, and Institutional Continuity in China’s Transition From Socialism.” The American Journal of Sociology, vol. 113, no. 2 (2007): 352–414.
This article examines how Chinese lawyers navigate professional challenges by developing and relying on political embeddedness, defined as their bureaucratic, instrumental, or personal ties to state actors. Drawing on data from a rare 25-city survey, the study shows that these connections help lawyers manage daily obstacles such as administrative interference, police harassment, and corruption. Rather than moving toward a more independent or liberal legal system, legal practice in China remains deeply shaped by remnants of socialist governance. Lawyers’ dependence on state relationships underscores the continued importance of political networks within institutions that are often seen as transitioning toward rule of law. This dynamic illustrates how, in backsliding or authoritarian systems, legal professionals survive not through autonomy, but through strategic accommodation to political power. The findings highlight the limits of professional independence in authoritarian legal environments and the persistence of informal practices within formal legal institutions.