Party-building in enhancing political legitimacy of social organizations: Empirical observations and research from Shenzhen
党建增强社会组织政治合法性的现实观察与研究——以深圳市为例

摘要

在国家现代化转型与社会治理创新背景下，社会组织的政治合法性对其长远发展至关重要。当前学术界对党建如何增强社会组织政治合法性的研究仍显不足。深圳作为改革开放前沿，其社会组织发展状况具有典型性，为相关研究提供了丰富的实践基础。本文以深圳市为例，运用案例分析法对多个代表性社会组织进行持续观察和访谈，结合相关政策文件等，分析党建对社会组织政治合法性的增强机制。研究发现，深圳市通过党建构建完善的社会组织制度保障体系、引领意识形态认同、推动服务国家战略以及社会荣誉提升等多维度实践，显著增强了社会组织的政治合法性，具体表现为政治站位提升、凝聚力增强、社会服务能力提升和社会认可度提高。基于此，构建了党建引领社会组织发展的“四维融合”模式。揭示了党建通过组织嵌入、意识形态引领、服务国家战略和服务社会提升等机制增强社会组织政治合法性，为相关理论研究提供新视角，也为社会组织嵌入国家治理体系提供了实践指导和参考。

Abstract

In the context of national modernization and social governance innovation, the political legitimacy of social organizations has emerged as a critical determinant for their sustainable development within China’s unique institutional framework. Despite its theoretical and practical significance, the mechanisms through which Party-building initiatives enhance such legitimacy remain underexplored. Focusing on Shenzhen—a pilot city for comprehensive reform—this study employs case study methodology to analyze representative social organizations via longitudinal observation, in-depth interviews, and policy document analysis. Findings reveal that Shenzhen’s institutional design has systematically strengthened political legitimacy through four synergistic dimensions: (1) institutional safeguards manifested in integrated registration-Party organization establishment mechanisms; (2) ideological alignment via innovative collaborative governance frameworks; (3) strategic synergy linking organizational capacities to national development priorities; and (4) social credibility enhancement through publicly recognized Party-branded initiatives. These practices collectively form a "four-dimensional integration model," demonstrating how institutional embeddedness, value cultivation, strategic coordination, and credibility co-construction dynamically reinforce political legitimacy. This research not only enriches organizational legitimacy theory by introducing context-specific mechanisms rooted in China’s governance paradigm but also provides actionable insights for aligning social organizations with state governance systems under Party leadership. The proposed framework advances scholarly discourse while offering pragmatic pathways for enhancing social organizations’ role in achieving Chinese-style modernization goals.