The philosophical basis of social and legal control in China with special reference to juvenile delinquency.

Abstract

The thesis provides some insights into social and legal control of juvenile delinquency in China based on the data available. The work examines social and legal control system of juvenile delinquency and focuses on the early social-education intervention, work-study school and juvenile reformatory, examining their philosophy, official policy and their apparent success in preventing juvenile delinquency and reforming juvenile offenders. The thesis examines the process of translation of the overall philosophical and ideological assumption about the human nature and the essence of society into concrete practices of control and rehabilitation of juveniles. The thesis also scrutinizes the implications of labeling theory and reintegrative shaming theory, as they were elaborated in the West, and tests their sensitivity to cross-cultural differences. In order to make the final interpretation of my findings more significant, I assess them from a comparative perspective. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)