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"Although contemporary China is a repressive state, protests and demonstrations have increased almost tenfold between 2005 and 2015. This is an astounding statistic when one considers that Marxist-Leninist regimes of the past tolerated little or no public dissent. How can protests become more common as the state becomes more repressive? This collection helps to answer this compelling question through in-depth analyses of several Chinese protest movements and state responses. The chapters examine the opportunities and constraints for protest mobilization, and explains their importance for understanding contemporary Chinese society"--

This article reviews how protest events in China take forms that are notably distinct from those of the Marxist-Leninist regimes of the twentieth century. It chronicles the upward trajectory of protests in China, remarkable because the trend occurs in a governance structure that seeks to limit independent civil society and the collective expression of grievances. We review several dimensions in which claims and grievances cluster, most of which can be attributed to China's rapid development, and which potentially could develop into large and coordinated protest campaigns. As part of the party's concern with maintenance of social harmony, we trace the development of China's unique repertoire of repression, most notably the various dimensions of the techno-security state, its control of the internet, and development of high-tech surveillance and social control. We close with speculations about the future of social movements in China and the role of its young generation. Today's young generation is mostly politically quiescent, taking advantage of unprecedented prosperity and opportunities, but it is also potentially "triggered" by examples of numerous protests and potentially empowered by social media.

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- 1. The Chinese Connection -- 2. The Drug Market in Burma -- 3. Wholesale Heroin Trafficking -- 4. Low-Level Heroin Trafficking -- 5. The Social Organization of Entrepreneurial Traffickers -- 6. The Retail Heroin Market in China -- 7. Women in the Heroin Trade -- 8. Drug Treatment with a Chinese Characteristic -- 9. Combating Drug Trafficking -- 10. Conclusion -- Notes -- References -- Index -- About the Authors

Illicit substance misuse has become a serious problem in contemporary China. The number of officially registered illicit substance misusers totals close to 3 million, having increased every year since the government's first annual report on drug control in 1998. In recent years, synthetic drugs such as methamphetamine and ketamine, have become more popular than heroin which was previously dominant. However, illicit substance use continues to receive little  sympathy from the public, despite government's efforts to move towards treatment and rehabilitation. For many years, compulsory detoxification centers and "education-through-labor" camps were the only treatment options. More humane approaches are emerging, including methadone maintenance, therapeutic communities, and faith-based halfway houses. Government response to drug trafficking remains draconian. Drug distribution and trafficking are among the dwindling number of criminal offenses that qualify for the death penalty. For future drug control policy, China appears willing to accelerate its experiment with decriminalizing substance abuse and applying a public health approach to the treatment of substance misusers. Evidence-based treatment programs through scientific research and rigorous evaluation should be the norm, and harm reduction needs to be seriously explored as an alternative to the harsh criminal justice regime. More importantly, reliable and multi-faceted forecast systems need to be established to monitor and estimate the size of substance misuser population and trends in illicit drug consumption. Finally, China should continue to expand its international collaboration and insulate its counter-narcotic programs from global politics.

The violence afflicting the Mexican migration corridor has often been explained as resulting from the brutal takeover of migrant smuggling markets by organized crime, specifically Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTOs). Through the testimonies of twenty-eight migrants who traveled with smuggling facilitators on their journeys into the United States and who interacted with drug traffickers during their transit, we argue that the metamorphosis taking place may be even more radical, involving the proliferation of actors with little or no criminal intent to operate along the migration trails. Far from market coalescence, the increasing flattening of criminal markets along the migration trail and the proliferation of individuals struggling to survive is the result of increasingly limited paths toward mobility and is not attributable to feared cartels or traficantes alone. The interactions among clandestine actors are not only likely to become more common but also to reflect flexibility and adaptation that hierarchical DTOs cannot explain.