Explaining China's Selective Anticorruption Efforts in the Reform Era

Authoritarian regimes may voluntarily fight corruption to consolidate their rule and enhance regime legitimacy. However, anti-corruption efforts are not necessarily based on the rule of law but follow certain political-economic logic. This research examines China, an authoritarian regime that has experienced rampant corruption since its market reforms started in the late 1970s. In face of widespread corruption in many government branches and various sectors, the Chinese Communist Party-state has launched waves of anti-corruption campaigns that apparently have aimed at combating different types and areas of corruption. What are the targets of these campaigns throughout time and what purposes do these selected anti-corruption targets serve?We employ a mixed research method to answer these questions. We compile a unique dataset combining the work reports by chief central and local prosecutors from 1999 to 2009 to identify primary areas targeted by the Chinese government's anti-corruption efforts. We find that the anti-corruption emphases are correlated with the launching and implementation of major reform initiatives. In-depth case studies on officials charged of corruption further indicate that anti-corruption campaigns serve as auxiliary tools to push forward socio-economic reforms, by removing either reform opportunists who abuse reform policies for private gains or reform opponents who resist reform agendas.We therefore contribute to existing research on selective anti-corruption enforcement in authoritarian regimes by showing that, instead of being purely driven by patronage networks and factional infightings, anti-corruption campaigns serve the purpose of cleaning up obstacles to socioeconomic reforms