Politics of Sichuan earthquake, 2008

The purpose of this research note is to give an overview of the Chinese Government's political response to the May 2008 deadly earthquake in Sichuan province. The specific focus lies in the political success of the Chinese government in managing the crisis in the context of a drastic socio‐economic transition. The way in which the Chinese government on the one hand publicly shifted her traditional reliance on authority by incorporating transparency and responsibility and on the other hand was able to rely on an unprecedented spirit of voluntarism shared among the Chinese population at large, facilitated a fast, efficient and appropriate response to this crisis. Copyright © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.