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Introduction: Local Governance in China—Past, Present, and Future Read chapter Read first chapter

2019 | OriginalPaper | Chapter

5. New Agenda for the Study of Chinese Governance

Authors : Jianxing Yu, Shizong Wang

Published in: The Palgrave Handbook of Local Governance in Contemporary China

Publisher: Springer Nature Singapore

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Abstract

Governance theory originated in the West, but China may well be the biggest “consumer” of this theory. Quite a few Chinese scholars have high expectations of this theory, either in delivery of public services or in political progress. Since the 1990s, public governance has undergone a distinct shift from centralized government to pluralistic cooperation. Moreover, the term governance has attained universal recognition because it can be applied in myriad domains and in any sense. Even within academic communities, there has been a long-existing controversy regarding the understanding of governance and the applicability of governance theory in China. After the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the Central Government officially employed the modern state governance system, the modernization of governance capacity, and social governance, which have contributed to the discord between official discourse and academic concept. All of these are a fair reflection of core contradictions between governance and state building and between state governance and social governance in contemporary China. Future research on Chinese governance may need to revolve around these core contradictions. This chapter attempts to review major research progress and disputes after the introduction of governance theory into China, reflect on the dilemma between state governance and social governance in China, and ultimately propose the research agenda of Chinese governance.

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previous chapter The Critical Role of Local Governance in China’s Political System
next chapter Mapping the Progress of Local Government Innovation in Contemporary China
Footnotes
1
The translation of governance into Zhidao entails the assimilation of Mou Tsung-san’s viewpoint. According to Mou Tsung-san, Zhengdao refers to the tangible form of corresponding political power while Zhidao can be defined as the way of adopting certain measures to deal with public affairs. We can roughly compare Zhidao and Zhengdao to administration and politics. See Mou Tsung-san (2006).
 
2
Such as co-governance (Toonen 1990), collaborative governance (Huxham 2000), and multiple governance (Hupe and Hill 2006).
 
3
See Marinetto (2003).
 
4
According to Peters (2000), new governance or modern governance was first proposed by Kooiman (1993) and Rhodes (1996).
 
5
This report also catalyzes the popularity of new governance. In the 1998 special issue of the Journal of International Social Sciences (Volume 50, Issue 155), most of the papers about governance mention the relevant work of the World Bank.
 
6
See Svensson et al. (2008); Alford and Hughes (2008); and so on.
 
7
As the leading advocates of governance in China, Yu Keping (1999) is a prime example of circular demonstration. See Wang Shizong (2009: 131).
 
8
The 2014 Report on the Work of the Government by Li Keqiang stresses that “We will promote innovation in social governance. We will focus on law-based governance and involve all parties in social governance.”
 
9
This proclivity is extremely noticeable in official media. For example, Global Times published an article by Wang Xiaoshi entitled “Reflections on Fukuyama: Construction of State Governance Capacity” on October 23, 2014. Actually, there are numerous similar viewpoints on the Internet.
 
10
See Peters and Pierre (1998).
 
11
Lily L. Tasi (2015) suggests that some noncompliant behaviors may be intended to communicate policy feedback and constructive criticism about the fit between policies and local conditions.
 
12
See Yu Keping et al. (2006).
 
13
In this respect, importance should be attached to the work of Li Wenzhao and Cai Changkun (2012).
 
14
Research on governance quality may not necessarily be directly related to governance or social governance, but it is instrumental to diagnosing problems with Chinese governance. The research by Tony Saich falls into this category. See Tony Saich (2013).
 
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Metadata
Title
New Agenda for the Study of Chinese Governance
Authors
Jianxing Yu
Shizong Wang
Copyright Year
2019
Publisher
Springer Nature Singapore
Book
The Palgrave Handbook of Local Governance in Contemporary China

Print ISBN: 978-981-13-2798-8

Electronic ISBN: 978-981-13-2799-5

Copyright Year: 2019

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2799-5_5