This chapter introduces a theory of informal norms and a conceptual framework of protests to further the understanding of the puzzling coexistence of authoritarian resilience and growing protest in China. Unlike most existing scholarship which focuses on formal institutions to explain authoritarian resilience, Chapter 1 brings attention to informal norms, or unwritten rules, and examines how they contribute to promoting conflict resolution through dialogue and building regime stability. The origins, functions, dynamics, and effects of these norms are sketched out in the chapter. Moreover, it presents an original theoretical model for examining the dynamics of protest and regime resilience, distinguishing between regime-engaging and regime-threatening protests. Offering critical indicators of regime stability/instability, this model is applicable to the investigation of the nature of protests and allows for the monitoring of the trajectory of political contention not only in China but in other regimes as well.