Social Governance Research into Rule by Law in Rural Areas at Local Level, Based on the Investigation in Village C, Fenyang, Shanxi Province

The new historical phase is marked by the pervasive integration of market economy mechanisms, rule-of-law institutions, and digital technologies into every dimension of contemporary China’s society. However, the governance at local level in rural areas continues to face formidable challenges in its transition towards legal institutionalization. On the one hand, the supply for legal institutionalization of rural social governance at local level remains insufficient, while the normative frameworks for order regulation and social governance have yet to achieve effective integration between formal social control mechanisms by the state and spontaneous social governance systems at local level. On the other hand, the traditional relational foundation among villagers in rural society remains entrenched, while villagers’ legal consciousness has not been effectively strengthened, manifesting the lack of faith in the rule of law. As a consequence, villagers do not have insufficient capacity to legitimately utilize legal mechanisms for rights protection. To address these challenges, measures should be taken to update models for legal education, explore alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, and establish and improve digital platforms. These initiatives aim to boost confidence in the rule of law within rural communities at local level, guided by the governance philosophy of by villagers, of villagers and for villagers. Therefore, practical and innovative path can be provided for the advancement of rural legal institutionalization.