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2018 | Book

Introduction Read chapter Read first chapter

Rethinking Think Tanks in Contemporary China

Author: Silvia Menegazzi

Publisher: Springer International Publishing

Part of: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

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About this book

This book analyzes how Chinese think tanks have become essential actors in today’s Chinese foreign policy and diplomatic practices. By providing an in-depth analysis of their roles, functions and transformation in the last decade, this study explains how they differ from their Western counterparts and how they have developed during Hu Jintao’s and Xi Jinping’s mandates. Think tanks are often thought to only be able to gain access to political processes within democratic contexts. This book suggests that even in the more ambiguous Chinese political environment, think tanks remain essential actors where ideas, discourses and beliefs about foreign policy and diplomacy are generated, framed and discussed vis-à-vis China’s ascent role in international affairs and global governance.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter
Chapter 1. Introduction
Abstract
Think tanks and policy research organizations have become an essential resource filling a knowledge-gap between the Chinese political elites and China’s changing society. The ascent role the People’s Republic of China is now playing in world affairs has resulted in more opportunities for Chinese think tanks to play a growing and different role compared with the past, which, at the same time has manifested in an increased interaction between them and their Western counterparts. This perspective highlights the need to make particular reference to how they perform at a regional and global level, as well as with regard to different policy domains. Chinese think tanks are thus fundamental actors in the study of Chinese politics as they are able to perform different functions, notwithstanding China’s authoritarian context.
Silvia Menegazzi
Chapter 2. Think Tanks, Knowledge Regimes and the Global Agora
Abstract
This chapter offers a new perspective in looking at Chinese think tanks by introducing the concept of knowledge regimes as a viable theoretical framework to understand the complex dynamic at play between think tanks and their context. More clearly, the chapter builds on the importance of linking the notion of knowledge regimes to national contexts and political systems. The perspective points out that specific political, economic and social institutional settings generate different types of policy knowledge based on think tanks and experts’ developments in their countries of origin. Furthermore, the chapter contextualizes knowledge-producing organization activities and functionality at regional and global levels.
Silvia Menegazzi
Chapter 3. Think Tanks in China
Abstract
This chapter provides a detailed analysis about the Chinese think tanks’ “tradition,” since the first institutes were established in the 1950s up to a more recent generation that has been developed in the early 2000s. Focusing on their major activities, the chapter also draws attention to the crucial “critical juncture” that occurred following Xi Jinping’s proposal of “Building Think Tanks with Chinese Characteristics” in 2013 while providing a detailed differentiation between the different types of think tanks based on their functionality. By looking at the recent trend of the internationalization process of the think-tank sector in China, the chapter also contributes to further analysis of their growing role at the international level, specifically, in terms of Track II Diplomacy and international forums.
Silvia Menegazzi
Chapter 4. Chinese Think Tanks and Economic Diplomacy
Abstract
Chinese think tanks have been able to perform fundamental activities in the realm of global economic governance. By analyzing some of the major policy research organizations in the field, this chapter presents a general but detailed overview of some of the most recently established organizations. Furthermore, it highlights the internationalization process think tanks are experiencing, with foreign academics, pundits and China Watchers today being part of the advisory boards of new institutes. In terms of activities, this new generation of think tanks is far more involved in international exchange activities, forums and symposia.
Silvia Menegazzi
Chapter 5. Chinese Think Tanks and Environmental Diplomacy
Abstract
China’s environmental diplomacy has undergone tremendous changes in the last decade. This chapter presents a timely overview of some of the most important environmental think tanks in China. It highlights that in recent years think tanks have become an invaluable resource in shaping the ideational discourses surrounding environmental issues in China. The work of think tanks is representative of the challenges faced by environmental diplomacy at the global level—it is a typical example of the ongoing processes regarding the transformation of traditional diplomacy into a more “hybrid” form of diplomacy which involves multiple issues and actors.
Silvia Menegazzi
Chapter 6. Conclusions: Rethinking Think Tanks in Contemporary China
Abstract
The Chinese state and its institutional development have been central to the study of think tanks in China. In this light, this chapter reviews major issues raised in the book through a brief but comparative analysis of the case studies presented in the previous chapters. Similarly, the chapter questions the main challenges and innovations, as well as limitations that have emerged vis-à-vis the knowledge research scenario in contemporary China. The conclusion remarks on both the external and internal factors contributing to the development of Chinese think tanks in the last decade, among which are the new plan by the Xi Jinping administration to set up think tanks with Chinese characteristics, China’s growing presence as an actor in global affairs, and the growing internationalization process that has occurred in the think-tank sector.
Silvia Menegazzi
Backmatter
Metadata
Title
Rethinking Think Tanks in Contemporary China
Author
Silvia Menegazzi
Copyright Year
2018
Electronic ISBN
978-3-319-57300-7
Print ISBN
978-3-319-57299-4
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57300-7

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