Abstract:

Within the disciplinary and antidisciplinary framework, a case study of “A” town in a suburb of Cixi City in Zhejiang Province reveals that market logic and administrative logic account for the respective behavior of street vendors and Chengguan whose strategies employed in the game include three combinations: escape and chase, pleading and lecturing, violent resistance and confiscation of properties. The evolution of strategy combinations projects the evolution and upgrading of the game, which further strengthens the informalization of informal space, thus reshaping the urban informal economy and public space. On the microscopic scale, the effectiveness of the game strategies depends on how local government and the grassroot law enforcement officers in particular control the game from escalating into the limit of tolerance on both sides.

Key words: games, Chengguan, space politics, discipline, street vendors