TY - JOUR
T1 - Environmental governance in China: Interactions between the state and “nonstate actors”
AU - Guttman, Dan
AU - Price, Lydia J.
AU - Bu, Maoliang
AU - Young, Oran
AU - Liu, Lingxuan
AU - Spencer, Michael
AU - Sun, Xiaopu
AU - Wang, Harold
AU - Hu, Tao
AU - Zhang, Xinxin
AU - Zeidan, Rodrigo
AU - Tan, Bowen
AU - Zhang, Juan
AU - Bramble, Barbara
AU - Logan, Kate
AU - Furst, Kathinka
AU - Chen, Carmen
AU - Li, Yifei
AU - Jing, Yijia
AU - Suh, Sangwon
AU - Wang, Xin
PY - 2018
Y1 - 2018
N2 - In the West, limited government capacity to solve environmental problems has triggered the rise of a variety of “nonstate actors” to supplement government efforts or provide alternative mechanisms for addressing environmental issues. How does this development - along with our efforts to understand it - map onto environmental governance processes in China? China's efforts to address environmental issues reflect institutionalized governance processes that differ from parallel western processes in ways that have major consequences for domestic environmental governance practices and the governance of China “going abroad.” China's governance processes blur the distinction between the state and other actors; the “shadow of the state” is a major factor in all efforts to address environmental issues. The space occupied by nonstate actors in western systems is occupied by shiye danwei (“public service units”), she hui tuanti (“social associations”) and e-platforms, all of which have close links to the state. Meanwhile, international NGOs and multinational corporations are also significant players in China. As a result, the mechanisms of influence that produce effects in China differ in important ways from mechanisms familiar from the western experience. This conclusion has far-reaching implications for those seeking to address global environmental concerns, given the importance of China's growing economy and burgeoning network of trade relationships.
AB - In the West, limited government capacity to solve environmental problems has triggered the rise of a variety of “nonstate actors” to supplement government efforts or provide alternative mechanisms for addressing environmental issues. How does this development - along with our efforts to understand it - map onto environmental governance processes in China? China's efforts to address environmental issues reflect institutionalized governance processes that differ from parallel western processes in ways that have major consequences for domestic environmental governance practices and the governance of China “going abroad.” China's governance processes blur the distinction between the state and other actors; the “shadow of the state” is a major factor in all efforts to address environmental issues. The space occupied by nonstate actors in western systems is occupied by shiye danwei (“public service units”), she hui tuanti (“social associations”) and e-platforms, all of which have close links to the state. Meanwhile, international NGOs and multinational corporations are also significant players in China. As a result, the mechanisms of influence that produce effects in China differ in important ways from mechanisms familiar from the western experience. This conclusion has far-reaching implications for those seeking to address global environmental concerns, given the importance of China's growing economy and burgeoning network of trade relationships.
KW - Belt and Road initiative
KW - Environmental governance
KW - Nonstate actors
KW - she hui tuanti (“social group”)
KW - shi ye danwei(“public service unit”)
KW - Belt and Road initiative
KW - Environmental governance
KW - Nonstate actors
KW - she hui tuanti (“social group”)
KW - shi ye danwei(“public service unit”)
U2 - 10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.04.104
DO - 10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.04.104
M3 - Journal
SN - 1448-6563
VL - 220
SP - 126
EP - 135
JO - Journal of Environmental Management
JF - Journal of Environmental Management
ER -