Research on the Modernization of Governance Systems and Capabilities in Ethnic Border Regions: A Case Study of the Integration between Cangyuan Wa Traditional Culture and Modern Law

Qian Wang; Zhongliang Gao; Yong Ding

doi:10.54691/thx3j658

Authors

Qian Wang Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China
Zhongliang Gao Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China
Yong Ding Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54691/thx3j658

Keywords:

Research on Border Governance,Modernization of the governance system, Cangyuan Wa Nationality, judicial confirmation.

Abstract

The core challenge in modernizing governance in ethnic border regions lies in whether the tension between the universal logic of state law and local traditional norms can be transformed into operational institutional interfaces, rather than merely overlapping or coexisting. This article takes Cangyuan Wa Autonomous County in Lincang City, Yunnan Province, as a case study, focusing on the mechanisms of integration between the Wa people's traditional "Awali" norms and modern legal systems across three dimensions: authority, norms, and procedures. The research reveals that the sustainability of integration is constrained by both the gradual decline of traditional authority across generations and the ambiguous handling of complex legal relationships by customary law. The direction of deepening does not lie in the pursuit of "complete integration", but in establishing differentiated institutional boundaries.

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