S3 Ep19: The rise and fall of local elections in China - a podcast by VoxDev.org

When dictators introduce local elections, more democracy at the local level may mean less control for the rulers. For a time in rural China, elected village leaders implemented government policy, favouring popular policies, while pushing back against those that villagers didn’t like. Nancy Qian tells Tim Phillips how even in a dictatorship, democratic choices can sometimes shape local lives.