Graeme Smith, Bsc (Hons), PhD (Sydney); BA (UNSW), PhD (ANU)
Research Associate, Contemporary China Centre
Email: graeme.smith@anu.edu.au
Biographical Statement
My main research interests are the dynamics of state–society interactions in rural China, and what influence concepts of economic development have on the lives of ordinary citizens. I have worked on the demand for organic produce in urban areas, examined the political economy of China’s agricultural extension system and rural governance as whole, and am now exploring the redistribution of land among Chinese farmers in an ARC Discovery project entitled "Land, Community and Governance in Rural China". I have conducted extensive field work in both rural and urban China, am the author of several travel guides, and also hold a PhD in chemistry.
Research Interests
Contemporary Chinese policy-making, state–society interactions, rural politics, bureaucratic contestation, resource projects, supply chains, and agribusiness.
Key Publications
- The Political Economy of Agricultural Extension in Rural Anhui, China. ANU PhD dissertation (2008).
- Co-editor(with Andrew Kipnis), a special journal issue on Rural Governance in the Midst of Underfunding, Deception, and Mistrust, Chinese Sociology and Anthropology, Vol. 39, No. 2 (Winter 2006).
- 'Pick a Cadre, Any Cadre', The Diplomat (2006).
- 'Structural Limits on the Delivery of Agricultural Extension Services in Rural China', Village Self-Governance in China: Past, Present and Future. Beijing: EU-China Training Programme on Village Governance (2006).
- A Matter of Trust: The Organic Food Market in China. Sydney:UNSW (2002).
Career Highlights
Appointment as a research associate at the ANU (2007), lecturer in Chinese Studies at the University of NSW (1999-2004), visiting scholar at the School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University (2001), research tutor in Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Sydney (1991-1996); various academic awards, including (with Prof. Jonathan Unger) ARC Discovery Grant (2007), WJ Liu Esq Memorial Prize (2001), UNSW-Tsinghua Scholarship (2001), Chinese Government Scholarship (1998-1999); founding president, China Research and Postgraduate Club, ANU (2003-2004).
