Reza Hasmath: Recent Episodes

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This talk provides a candid account of how the Chinese citizenry currently thinks about the world. It draws upon findings from the second iteration of the Chinese Citizens’ Global Perception Survey (CCGPS) conducted by the speaker in the first quarter of 2024. CCGPS 2024 is a national survey looking at mainland Chinese citizens’ perspectives on China’s current relations with global actors, including, Australia, Canada, EU, France, Germany, India, Japan, Russia, UK and USA. The talk examines four key areas of analytical interest: (1) Chinese citizens’ global perception of trusted partners, and those jurisdictions that may be more antagonistic in the near future; (2) views on China’s global roles; (3) preferences for foreign tourism, study, work and emigration; and, (4) Chinese citizens’ sources and knowledge of global jurisdictions. The ultimate aim of the talk is to provide timely, data-driven evidence that can assist key stakeholders to develop targeted and considered strategies for enlightened and productive engagement with mainland China.

See the accompanying report here.

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In many parts of the world, democratic values and institutions are being eroded, while autocrats and ‘strongmen’ are gaining power in democratic nations, and consolidating it in autocratic ones. This panel talk dissects the causes and consequences of these alarming trends, examining case studies from multiple regions, as well as cross-cutting themes such as the role of disinformation, populism and polarization. What can be done to protect against these forces? And what are the prospects for reversing the decline of democracy and the advance of autocracy?

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Contents:

1. Introduction

2. Discourse and Deliberative Processes in the Public Sphere

3. The Politics of Difference

4. Authoritarian Discourse and Deliberation

5. Authoritarian Difference

6. Conclusion

Abstract:

This article explores how discourse, deliberation and difference functions in an authoritarian environment, with an emphasis on the experiences of contemporary China. The article articulates why authoritarian discourse and deliberation is more limited than its Western democratic counterpart. It further suggests that the incorporation of difference into authoritarian discourse and deliberation is difficult due to the inherent tensions between the ‘Other’ and the ruling elite in authoritarian polities. Nevertheless, these constraints do not invalidate the notion that public discourse and deliberation is theoretically possible and has a practical function in authoritarian regimes.

Citation:

Hasmath, R. (2023) “Discourse, Deliberation and Difference in an Authoritarian Public Sphere”, Journal of Deliberative Democracy 19(1): 1-10.

Available in Chinese, French, German and Russian:

独裁公共领域中的话语, 商议和差异

Débats, Délibérations et Divergences dans une Société Publique Autoritaire

Diskurs, Deliberation und Differenz in einem Autoritären Öffentlichen Raum

Дискурс, дискуссия и различия в авторитарной публичной сфере

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This talk looks at the altruistic authoritarian citizen through the lens of understanding their (non-)participation in philanthropic and voluntaristic activities in contemporary China.

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This talk provides a candid account of how the Chinese citizenry currently thinks about other nations, and their relationship with China. It draws upon findings from the first iteration of the Chinese Citizens’ Global Perception Survey (CCGPS) conducted in the first quarter of 2023. CCGPS 2023 is a national survey looking at mainland Chinese citizens’ perspectives on China’s current relations with global actors, including, Australia, Canada, EU, France, Germany, India, Japan, Russia, UK and USA. The talk will focus on discussing the major findings, and potential policy implications, pertaining to Chinese citizens’ (1) general global perception; (2) views on China’s global roles; (3) preferences for foreign tourism, study, work and immigration; and, (4) sources and knowledge of global jurisdictions. Suffice it to say, how Chinese citizens perceive the world will have profound implications for China’s future domestic and international behaviour, as well as for the global actors that intimately engage with China.

See the accompanying report ⁠here⁠.

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Contents:

1. Introduction

2. The Context

3. Short Term Strategies (Under a Year)

4. Medium Term Strategies (1 to 3 Years)

5. Long Term Strategies (3 Years Plus)

6. Conclusion

Abstract:

Current policies to manage ethnic minority unrest in Xinjiang are not working, and they do not address the core root causes behind ethnic tensions. Drawing upon lessons learned from global approaches to improve inter-ethnic relations, and factoring China’s institutional behaviour and norms, this essay looks at policy responses that can be entertained by the state to improve the conditions of ethnic minorities in Xinjiang. It suggests that in the short-term (under a year) the state can be more responsible in using the big data it collects for targeted surveillance, in tandem with a community engagement approach. In the medium-term (1-3 years), the state can employ practices to reduce ethnic prejudice by encouraging increased meaningful intergroup contact, and promoting a positive media portrayal of ethnic minorities. In the long-term (3 years plus), improving the relative socio-economic ethnic inequalities is paramount.

Citation:

Hasmath, R. (2022) “Future Responses to Managing Muslim Ethnic Minorities in China: Lessons Learned from Global Approaches to Improving Inter-Ethnic Relations”, International Journal 77(1): 51-67.

Available in Chinese, French, German and Japanese:

中国管理穆斯林少数民族的未来应对措施：从改善民族间关系的全球方法中吸取的教训

Réponses Futures à la Gestion des Minorités Ethniques Musulmanes en Chine: Leçons Tirées des Approches Mondiales pour Améliorer les Relations Interethniques

Künftige Reaktionen auf den Umgang mit Muslimischen Ethnischen Minderheiten in China: Lehren aus Globalen Ansätzen zur Verbesserung der Interethnischen Beziehungen

中国におけるムスリム少数民族の管理に対する今後の対応：民族間関係を改善するためのグローバルなアプローチから学んだ教訓

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This talk explores the relationship between volunteerism, philanthropy, and civic engagement in contemporary China. It discusses new forms of citizen-led initiatives that are complementary to, or supplanting, state-led ones.

See the accompanying papers:

1. The Construction and Performance of Citizenship in Contemporary China.

2. Citizens’ Expectations for Crisis Management and the Involvement of Civil Society Organizations in China.  

3. Volunteerism and Democratic Learning in an Authoritarian State: The Case of China.

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Contents:

1. Introduction

2. Theoretical Framework

3. Methodology

4. Results

5. Conclusion

Abstract:

Citizenship education has been an explicit part of the universal education system in contemporary China. Using data from an original nationwide survey conducted in 2018, this study tests the hypothesis that the longer the intensity of exposure to citizenship education, the more citizens are influenced by a state-led conception of citizenship characterized by passive obedience and loyalty to the state. The study finds mixed results in that citizenship education is effective at lower educational levels, but at higher levels it is not only less effective, but instead may foster (or at minimum, does not deter) more active conceptions of citizenship.

Citation:

Hsu, C., Teets, J. Hasmath, R., Hsu, J. and Hildebrandt, T. (2022) “The Construction and Performance of Citizenship in Contemporary China”, Journal of Contemporary China 31(138): 827-843. 

Available in Chinese:

当代中国公民身份建构与表现

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Contents:

1. Introduction

2. Citizens Expectations and State Performance Legitimacy in a Period of National Crisis

3. Data

4. Results and Discussion

5. Implications and Conclusion

Abstract:

Chinese citizens are relatively happy with the state’s management of national disasters and emergencies. However, they are increasingly concluding that the state alone cannot manage them. Leveraging the 2018 and 2020 Civic Participation in China Surveys, we find that more educated citizens conclude that the government have a leading role crisis management, but there is ample room for civil society organizations (CSOs) to act in a complementary fashion. On a slightly diverging path, volunteers who have meaningfully interacted with CSOs are more skeptical than non-volunteers about CSOs’ organizational ability to fulfill this crisis management function. These findings imply that the political legitimacy of the Communist Party of China is not challenged by allowing CSOs a greater role in crisis management.

Citation:

Hasmath, R., Hildebrandt, T., Teets, J., Hsu, J. and Hsu, C. (2022) “Citizens’ Expectations for Crisis Management and the Involvement of Civil Society Organizations in China”, Journal of Current Chinese Affairs 51(2): 292-312.

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权威主义国家的志愿服务和民主学习: 以中国为例：民众对国家所有制和市场监管的态度

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Contents:

1. Introduction

2. Framework

3. Methodology

4. Results and Findings

5. Implications and Conclusion

Abstract:

Extant literature on civic participation in Western democracies demonstrates a linear relationship between increased civic participation and a stronger democracy. In general, the scholarly debate revolves around the precise causal mechanisms for this relationship: holding government accountable; citizens learning ‘democratic skills’, such as collective mobilization and advocacy; and, building social capital and trust to overcome the dilemma of collective action. Given the rapidly increasing volunteerism in China, this study tests these theories in an authoritarian setting using evidence from the 2020 Civic Participation in China Survey. The study finds that volunteers in China do learn ‘citizen skills’; however, these differ from those learned by volunteers in democracies. Foremost, while volunteering allows for authoritarian citizens to learn and differentiate channels most appropriate for addressing specific social problems, they generally do not try to directly hold their government accountable for poor performance. Additionally, the study finds limited support that volunteers are seeking to develop trust in other citizens, contra evidence from Western democracies. Finally, the results suggest that volunteers are participating as a means to send signals to the state that they are emerging local community leaders. These findings have important implications for increasing civic participation in authoritarian regimes.

Citation:

Teets, J., Hasmath, R., Hildebrandt, T., Hsu, C. and Hsu, J. (2022) “Volunteerism and Democratic Learning in an Authoritarian State: The Case of China”, Democratization 29(5): 879-898.

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权威主义国家的志愿服务和民主学习: 以中国为例：民众对国家所有制和市场监管的态度

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Contents:

1. Introduction

2. The Institutional Approach

3. A Values-Based Actor

4. Realpolitik Dimension

5. Implications and Conclusion

Abstract:

Contemporary European Union (EU) and China relations are marked by a simultaneously beneficial, conflictual and competitive partnership. This is aptly evident in the cyber technology realm. This paper contends that the European Union’s gestaltian approach towards China can be understood with the aid of three theoretical positions: (1) an institutional perspective; (2) as a values-based actor; and, (3) a realpolitik dimension. The arguments advanced in the paper, ultimately imply that the EU’s approach towards China can provide various EU domestic and global actors’ space to exploit contradictions, notably when it comes to cyber technology diplomacy. This has the attendant effect of fostering future fissures in the EU’s overall engagement with China.

Citation:

Hasmath, R. and Berzina-Cerenkova, U. (2022) “Cyber Technology and the European Union’s Gestaltian Approach to China”, Stosunki Międzynarodowe – International Relations 2:10.

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网络技术与欧盟对中国的格式塔法

La Cybertechnologie et l’Approche Gestaltiste de l'Union Européenne vis-à-vis de la Chine

Cybertechnologien und der Gestaltheoretische Ansatz der Europäischen Union bei der Betrachtung Chinas

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This talk looks at the saliency of 'white privilege' in a multicultural society. 

See the accompanying paper here.

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This talk looks at the effectiveness of international organizations naming and shaming China when it comes to alleged human rights violations. It draws upon all publicly available human rights reports pertaining to China between 1991 and 2021, from Amnesty International (AI), Human Rights Watch (HRW), and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). It suggests that the OHCHR is more successful in influencing China’s human rights’ behaviour, followed by HRW and AI. Part of the reasoning for this is the fact OHCHR and HRW have adopted a broader conception of human rights centred along both political and civil rights, and economic, cultural and social rights; with AI focusing largely on political and civil rights’ issues. Since its foundation, the P.R. China has placed greater priority on economic, cultural and social rights, rendering less inertia for OHCHR and HRW to employ a naming and shaming strategy.

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Contents:

1. Introduction

2. Economic Legitimation and Authoritarian Resilience

3. Methodology

4. Perceptions of State Ownership

5. Perceptions of Market Regulation

6. Discussion

7. Conclusion

Abstract:

Autocrats typically seek public support on the basis of economic growth-promotion and redistribution policies, and China is no exception. As important as these factors are for authoritarian resilience, we argue that economic legitimation is a more complex phenomenon than has previously been acknowledged. Beyond improvements in material well-being, citizens form judgments about the state’s effectiveness in carrying out a variety of economic roles beyond growth-promotion and they also care about the fairness of these market interventions. In this study, we use original survey data collected in late 2015 and early 2016 to evaluate Chinese citizens’ perceptions of two economic roles of the state that have been hotly debated in recent years: state ownership and market regulation. We find that while citizens view the ideas of state ownership and interventionist regulation in a generally positive light—suggesting a broad level of agreement in Chinese society about what economic functions the state ought to perform—perceptions of how the state actually carries out these roles are more mixed. Our results show that the urban young are especially inclined to critical evaluations, raising the question of how the Chinese Communist Party’s legitimation strategy will fare under conditions of inter-generational value change.

Citation:

Eaton, S. and Hasmath, R. (2021) “Economic Legitimation in a New Era: Public Attitudes About State Ownership and Market Regulation”, The China Quarterly 246: 447-472.

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新时代的经济合法化：民众对国家所有制和市场监管的态度

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Contents:

1. Introduction

2. Individual Personality and Policy Innovation

3. Policy Innovation in China

4. Research Design, Prior Expectations, and Data Collection

5. Results

6. Implications and Conclusion

Abstract:

This article argues that policymakers’ individual attributes influence their willingness to engage in policy innovation, and that this influence is responsive to, but not determined by, changes in the institutional structure. We derive these findings by employing principal component analysis of original data from surveys of local policymakers in China, to inductively locate different personalities. We find statistically significant personalities that influence a willingness to innovate, and that this influence is responsive to changes such as heightened risk. In addition to parsing the influence of extrinsic and intrinsic motivations on policy innovation, we further find that the traditional risk-acceptant policy-entrepreneur personality does not explain innovation well.

Citation:

Lewis, O., Teets, J. and Hasmath, R. (2022) “Exploring Political Personalities: The Micro-Foundation of Local Policy Innovation in China”, Governance 35(1): 103-122.

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探索政治人格：中国地方性政策创新的微观基础

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Contents:

1. Introduction

2. Institutional Theory

3. Social Theories

4. Agency/Stakeholder Theory

5. Complementary Qualities?

6. China-European Union Case Study

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Contents:

1. Introduction

2. Chinese Social Organizations in Development

3. The Role and Behaviour of Chinese Social Organizations in Africa

4. Practical Implications

5. Theoretical Implications

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Contents:

1. Introduction

2. The Public Sphere

3. The Role of the State

4. Social Organizations

5. Final Words

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Contents:

1. Introduction

2. Gender and Ethnic Variances

3. Explaining Variances: Structural Changes

4. Explaining Variances: Interactional Effects

5. Explaining Variances: Individual Preferences

6. Ethnic Minority Management

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Contents:

1. Introduction

2. The First (and Last?) Liberal Age

3. Merging Eastern and Western Philosophy

4. Period of Transition (1978-1997)

5. Period of Transition (1997-2012)

6. Current and Future Prospects

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Contents:

1. Introduction

2. Popular Accountability

3. Autocratic Resilience

4. Importance of Popular Accountability

5. The Social Contract in a Mature Communist Regime

6. Public Opinion

7. Citizen Complaints

8. A New Social Contract?

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Contents:

1. Introduction

2. NGOs Sources of Power

3. NGOs Main Functions

4. NGOs Dilemmas

5. The Chinese Context

6. Neo-Institutional Theory

7. The Institutional Environment

8. ‘Competition’ with the State

9. Epistemic Awareness

10. Final Words

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Contents:

1. Introduction

2. Governed Market Theory

3. Governed Interdependence Theory

4. Bureaucratic Structure of Coordination

5. High Quality Bureaucrats

6. Final Words

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Contents:

1. Introduction

2. State Corporatism

3. Interest Politics vs State Corporatism

4. Developmental State vs State Corporatism

5. Corporatism in the Chinese Context

6. Tacit and Overt Sanctioning

7. The Local Corporatist State

8. Final Words

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Contents:

1. Introduction

2. Background

3. Characteristics of China’s Leninist Polity

4. Can China Support this Political System? 

5. Expressions of Discontent

6. The Need for Reforms

7. The Impact of Reforms

8. Final Words

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Contents:

1. Introduction

2. Brief History (1840-1910)

3. Brief History (1911-1949)

4. Brief History (1949-1978)

5. Brief History (1978-2012)

6. Lessons Learned

7. Final Words

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Contents:

1. Introduction

2. Understanding Incentives for Innovation: Using an Evolutionary Framework

3. Innovation Under Recentralization

4. Implications for Innovation

Abstract:

Despite playing a key contributing role in China’s economic reforms and the Party’s regime durability, there has been a noted reduction in local policy experimentation. Using semi-structured interviews with policymakers in Beijing, Zhejiang and Shenzhen, we find that although recentralization efforts at the central-level are impacting local officials, a great deal of variation in policy experimentation outcomes still exists. Thus, the puzzle motivating this study is how do local officials react to these institutional changes to decide whether or not to engage in local policy innovation? Our study offers three potential explanations for why local officials vary in their willingness to continue policy experimentation: (1) the ineffectiveness of the vertical reward and punishment systems operated by the Party-state; (2) differing base preferences of local officials; and, (3) the presence of a cohort effect. These factors “filter” institutional changes to result in variation at the local level. As such, we find strong support for an evolutionary process predicated on individual preferences interacting with institutional incentives such as the evaluation system and the networked-structure of cadre knowledge. Although some officials are still conducting policy experimentation, the overall reduction in innovation strongly suggests that potential solutions to governance problems remain trapped at the local level, and that the central government might lose this “adaptable” governance mechanism that has contributed to its past economic and political successes.

Citation:

Teets, J., Hasmath, R. and Lewis, O. (2017) “The Incentive to Innovate? The Behavior of Policymakers in China”, Journal of Chinese Political Science 22(4): 505-517.

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Contents:

1. Introduction

2. Theoretical Framework

3. Methodology

4. Findings and Discussion

5. Implications and Conclusion

Abstract:

Why do local officials in an authoritarian bureaucracy experiment with policy, even when directed not to do so by central-level officials? This study suggests that policy experimentation in this institutional environment can best be understood as an interaction between the structure in which local officials are embedded, and individual-level personality attributes. Leveraging a new data set from a series of original surveys with local policymakers in mainland China, conducted between 2016 and 2018, we discern three base-line personality types: authoritarian, consultative and entrepreneurial. We thereafter examine the individual-level characteristics of local officials who will innovate irrespective of a centralization of bureaucratic power and interests, as currently experienced under Chinese President Xi Jinping. We find that local policymakers engage in policy innovation when they are more focused on resolving governance problems, and that increased risk reduces but does not eliminate their willingness to innovate. Based on these findings, we contend that future studies of policy innovation should use an evolutionary framework to examine the interaction between preferences and selection pressures.

Citation:

Hasmath, R., Teets, J. and Lewis, O. (2019) “The Innovative Personality? Policymaking and Experimentation in an Authoritarian Bureaucracy”, Public Administration and Development 39(3): 154-162.

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Contents:

1. Introduction

2. Defining Labor Standards

3. Is There a ‘Race to the Bottom’?

4. The Impact of NGOs

5. Trade Agreements and the South

6. The China Case

7. Conclusion

Abstract:

This paper will examine the linkages between global big businesses, NGOs and labour standards in the contemporary context of developing nations.  Specifically, it will pay close attention to multinational corporations’ practices in terms of wages, foreign direct investment and supply-chain formations, and its overall effects on labour standards.  Reflections on trade agreements will also be offered in respect to how they affect labour standards.  Coiled in this background, the role of NGOs to promote and improve labour standards in developing nations will be critically examined.

Citation:

Hasmath, R. and Hsu, J. (2007) “Big Business, NGOs and Labor Standards in Developing Nations: A Critical Reflection”, Asian Journal of Social Policy 3(1): 1-15.

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Contents:

1. Introduction

2. Political Background Conditions

3. The Many Definitions of Social Development

4. Tibetan Social Development

5. Future Considerations

6. Conclusion

Abstract:

This paper will historically examine social development outcomes in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) in respect to poverty eradication, education and employment, health care and social integration. Moreover, it will offer tangible advice for improving future social development work in TAR. The main theoretical approach is a literature and policy review of social development in TAR from 1951 to present. Seemingly Tibet’s social development strategy has been achieved through a strong top-down approach. However, the road ahead for TAR once basic needs are satisfactorily met, is a move towards a participatory approach, whereby Tibetans can directly contribute and have a stake in their own futures. This paper will be of interest to those who want a definitive account of recent historical social development strategies and outcomes in TAR; and subsequently, the future possibilities and challenges for development in the region.

Citation:

Hasmath, R. and Hsu, J. (2007) “Social Development in the Tibet Autonomous Region: A Contemporary and Historical Analysis”, International Journal of Development Issues 6(2): 125-141.

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Contents:

1. Introduction

2. NGOs’ Perceptions of Constituents

3. The Role of the General Public

4. Mechanisms Employed to Ensure Good Governance

5. Conclusion

Abstract:

Drawing on interviews conducted among leading local and international NGOs operating in China, this article considers how NGOs understand and implement good governance and accountability principles and practices.  It also examines how Chinese constituents and the general public perceive local and international NGOs. The discussion provides a basis on which to assess ways of improving accountability practices for NGOs operating in China.  

Citation:

Hasmath, R. and Hsu, J. (2008) “NGOs in China: Issues of Good Governance and Accountability”, Asia Pacific Journal of Public Administration 30(1): 1-11.

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对中国公民社会组织良好治理的研究

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Contents:

1. Introduction

2. Theoretical Framework

3. Methodology

4. Findings and Discussion

5. Conclusion

Abstract:

Received wisdom views political humor, viz. egao, in the Chinese cyber public sphere as a form of resistance. This study creates and tests a framework that best conceptualizes how different functions of egao are connected with one another: to analyze the patterns of ties that link the different facets of the phenomenon together. The study contends that by framing egao within network society theory, we can appreciate its fluidity and better understand its online ubiquity. Analysis of survey data suggests that it is not the content solely, but the networked practice of egao that dictates its true function. Namely, the networked practices of netizens (internet citizens) have a formative relationship with their perceptions of, and interactions with, egao. The connectivity netizens feel from engaging in the practice often supersedes its content, in terms of value to cyber culture.

Citation:

Yates, M. and Hasmath, R. (2017) “When a Joke is More than a Joke: Humor as Form of Networked Practice in the Chinese Cyber Public Sphere”, Journal of Chinese Sociology 4:17.

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Contents:

1. Introduction

2. Explaining the Motivations for Policy Experimentation

3. Motivations for Policy Experimentation under Xi Jinping

4. Conclusion

Abstract:

Most scholars credit policy experimentation with China’s successful economic reforms and continued authoritarian resilience. This article contributes to this policy experimentation literature by providing a systematic overview of the motivations incentivizing Chinese policy entrepreneurs to experiment at local levels. This article traces the evolution of policy experimentation in China through the prism of understanding the varying motivations for experimentation, such as individual career incentives, improving good governance, and symbolic and factional politics. Despite the benefits of policy experimentation, there has been a notable reduction in experimentation in the Xi Jinping era due to the recentralization of political power through “top-level design” and an ongoing anti-corruption campaign. This has effectively created disincentives to innovate at the local level. Nevertheless, we do find remaining pockets of policy experimentation that we argue are due to ineffective institutional incentives, the influence of peer groups, and variations in the individual personalities of policymakers. However, it is unclear if the remaining experimentation is robust enough to assist in further economic reforms or adaptive governance.

Citation:

Teets, J. and Hasmath, R. (2020) “The Evolution of Policy Experimentation in China”, Journal of Asian Public Policy 13(1): 49-59.

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Contents:

1. Introduction

2. Theoretical Framework

3. The Contemporary Behaviour of Chinese Social Organizations

4. Discussion

5. Conclusion

Abstract:

The concept of global civil society arose out of a language, culture and definition influenced by mainstream Western political philosophy and discourse, and the behaviour of Western NGOs that proliferated in the latter part of the 20th century. The recent rise of Chinese social organizations internationally – who were born, developed and prospered in a domestic authoritarian institutional environment with varying values and norms than their Western counterparts – suggests a rethink of how global civil society is conceived. Namely, as Chinese social organizations internationalize, they ultimately export to host nations their best/worst practices, modes of operation, organizational behaviour, and their values and norms. This article looks at the experiences of Chinese social organizations domestically and abroad, and discerns how their actions and behaviour potentially confirms, modifies and/or rejects the contemporary conceptual understanding of global civil society.

Citation:

Hasmath, R. and Hsu, J. (2021) “Rethinking Global Civil Society in an Era of a Rising China”, The China Review 21(3): 221-246.

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论述中国崛起时代如何重新思考全球公民社会

Die Globale Zivilgesellschaft in einer Ära des aufstrebenden Chinas neu denken

Переосмысление глобального гражданского общества в эпоху восходящего Китая

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Contents:

1. Introduction

2. Framework

3. Methodology and Sample

4. Results

5. Discussion

6. Conclusion

Abstract:

This article suggests that Chinese NGO do not have the conviction that they are part of an epistemic community in mainland China. Interviews conducted in four cities, Chongqing, Kunming, Nanjing and Shanghai, suggests that this can be attributed to a lack of set standards and professionalization governing their sector of operation. Further, the study finds that Chinese NGOs do not see their primary role is to produce knowledge within their organizational development life cycle. This may indicate a varying path towards the maturation of the civil society sector in China, whereby Chinese NGOs do not conform to the organizational development process as outlined in extant NGO literature.

Citation:

Hsu, J. and Hasmath, R. (2017) “A Maturing Civil Society in China? The Role of Knowledge and Professionalization in the Development of NGOs”, China Information 31(1): 22-42.

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成熟中的中国民间团体？知识和专业性在NGO发展中的角色

Auf dem Weg zu einer mündigen Zivilgesellschaft in China? Die Rolle von Wissen und Professionalisierung in der Entwicklung von NGOs

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Contents:

1. Introduction

2. Social Organizations and Organizational Fields

3. National Level Constraints: Political Authoritarianism and Cultural Unfamiliarity

4. Local Constraints

5. Methodology and Sample

6. Results: Regional Variations in Resource Strategies

7. Discussion: Resource Strategies and Citizenship

8. Conclusion

Abstract:

This study argues that different cities in China have different resource environments available for NGOs. Organizations react to these resource environments by constructing appropriate resource strategies, which in turn shape the characteristics and structures of the NGOs of that city. It further examines how these characteristics and structures influence the construction and performance of citizenship in an authoritarian environment. Specifically, some types of NGOs encourage Chinese citizens to be passive, while others offer a model for people to actively engage with social issues. This is aptly demonstrated in an analysis of NGOs operating across four cities – Beijing, Shanghai, Kunming, and Nanjing – which reveals three different types of resource environments and behavioural models for NGOs. We subsequently discuss the implications of each model for citizen engagement.

Citation:

Hsu, J., Hsu, C. and Hasmath, R. (2017) “NGO Strategies in an Authoritarian Context, and their Implications for Citizenship: The Case of the People’s Republic of China”, Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations 28(3): 1157-1179.

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专制主义环境下的NGO 策略，及对公民身份的影响：中国案例

NGO-Strategien in einem autoritären Kontext und ihre Auswirkungen auf die Staatsbürgerschaft: Der Fall der Volksrepublik China

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Contents:

1. Introduction

2. RNGOs as an Organizational Field

3. Neo-Institutional Theory

4. Methodology and Sample

5. Findings and Discussion

6. Conclusion

Abstract:

This article looks at the strategies religious non-governmental organizations (RNGOs) with strong transnational linkages use to maintain a continued presence in mainland China. It does so by utilizing neo-institutional theory as an instrument for analysis, with an emphasis on outlining the coercive, mimetic and normative pressures RNGOs face. One of the key findings of the study is that there is creative circumvention of isomorphic pressures by working with local agents, fostering trust with the local government, and keeping a low profile. Moreover, RNGOs dealt with the uncertain institutional environment in China through staff exchanges, denominational supervision, tapping into global platforms, and undergoing a professionalization process. 

Citation:

Tam, J. and Hasmath, R. (2015) “Navigating Uncertainty: The Survival Strategies of Religious NGOs in China”, Journal of Civil Society 11(3): 283-299.

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Contents:

1. Introduction

2. Theoretical Background

3. Methodology and Sample

4. Findings

5. Discussion

6. Conclusion

Abstract:

A community of practice represents an important resource for the sharing of sector-specific knowledge. It is a mechanism for Chinese NGOs to learn from each other, and collaborate. Drawing upon original data elicited from over 100 NGOs, this article examines the organizational capacity for Chinese NGOs to cultivate a mature community of practice. We find that there are inherent headwinds that Chinese NGOs will have to navigate to accomplish this goal. On the one hand, the majority of NGOs in our sample do not see themselves as part of a community of experts, which presents a huge challenge for the possibility of a structured and institutionalized community of practice. On the other hand, in order to survive and prosper in the post-Charity Law regime, Chinese NGOs will have to learn how to adapt – implement best practices and avoid worst ones – to survive. This is best accomplished by developing a mature community of practice to share knowledge with each other.

Citation:

Hasmath, R. and Hsu, J. (2020) “A Community of Practice for Chinese NGOs”, Journal of Chinese Political Science 25(4): 575-589.

Available in Chinese and German:

中国非政府组织的实践团体

Eine Community of Practice für chinesische NGOs

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Contents:

1. Introduction

2. Case Study Selection and Methodology

3. The Role of Chinese NGOs in Development

4. The Case of Ethiopia

5. The Case of Malawi

6. The Potential Role and Behaviour of Chinese GONGOs

7. Implications and Conclusion

Abstract:

This article examines the overseas behaviour of Chinese non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in two African nations, Ethiopia and Malawi, with varying political regime types. Our findings suggest that, irrespective of regime type, Chinese NGOs have yet to make a substantial impact in either nation. We argue that, despite the strength of the Chinese state and high levels of international development assistance given, domestic politics and regulatory frameworks in host nations still matter a great deal. Our study suggests that the Chinese model of international development will continue to be one in which temporary one-off projects are favoured; and, insofar as social organisations will play a role, they will be in the domain of government-organised NGOs rather than grassroots NGOs.

Citation:

Hsu, J., Hildebrandt, T. and Hasmath, R. (2016) “‘Going Out’ or Staying In? The Expansion of Chinese NGOs in Africa”, Development Policy Review 34(3): 423-439.

Available in Chinese:

‘走出去’还是留在国内--中国非政府组织在非洲的扩张

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Contents:

1. Introduction

2. Methodology and Sample

3. Neo-Institutional Theory and Isomorphic Pressures

4. The Institutional Environment and Collaborative Measures

5. The Epistemic Awareness of NGOs by the Local State

6. The Growing Epistemic Capacity of NGOs

7. Final Words

Abstract:

This article suggests that a lack of meaningful collaboration between the state and NGOs in China is not solely a result of the state seeking to restrict the development of the sector, or fear of a potential opposing actor to the state. Instead, interviews with NGOs in Beijing and Shanghai suggests that a lack of meaningful engagement between the state and NGOs can be partially attributed to isomorphic pressures within state-NGO relations, and insufficient epistemic awareness of NGO activities on the part of the state. In fact, the evidence suggests that once epistemic awareness is achieved by the state, they will have a stronger desire to interact with NGOs – with the caveat that the state will seek to utilize the material power of NGOs, rather than their symbolic, interpretive or geographical capital.

Citation:

Hasmath, R. and Hsu, J. (2014) “Isomorphic Pressures, Epistemic Communities and State-NGO Interactions”, The China Quarterly 220: 936-954.

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同构压力，认知群体，政府-NGO 合作在中国

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Contents:

1. Introduction

2. The Local Corporatist State

3. Developing the Chinese NGO Sector

4. Profile of NGOs Interviewed in Shanghai

5. Local State-NGO Interactions in Shanghai

6. Conclusion

Abstract:

This article examines the Chinese state’s interactions and influences on the development of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) through a corporatist framework. It suggests that not only is the central state actively involved in the development of NGOs, but increasingly the successes of NGOs are determined by their interactions with the local state. We profile NGOs in Shanghai, of varying sizes, budgets, and issue-areas, as a case study to understand the interplay between NGOs and the local state. The article further discusses reasons behind the growing shift from central to local state influences, and the potential future implications for state-NGO relations in China.

Citation:

Hsu, J. and Hasmath, R. (2014) “The Local Corporatist State and NGO Relations in China”, Journal of Contemporary China 23(87): 516-534.

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中国统和主义地方政府与非政府组织关系

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Contents:

1. Introduction 

2. Populist Appeal 

3. Wedge Politics

4. A Culture of Control

5. Discussion and Conclusion

Abstract:

This article examines why Australia has taken a tough stance on ‘boat people’, through an analysis of the Malaysian People Swap response. The findings support the view that Australia’s asylum seeker policy agenda is driven by populism, wedge politics and a culture of control. The article further argues that these political pressures, in sum, hold numerous negative implications for the tone of Australia’s political debate, the quality of policy formulation, as well as for asylum seekers and refugees themselves.

Citation:

McKenzie, J. and Hasmath, R. (2013) “Deterring the ‘Boat People’: Explaining the Australian Government's People Swap Response to Asylum Seekers”, Australian Journal of Political Science 48(4): 417-430.

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Contents:

1. Introduction

2. Theoretical Framework

3. Methodology

4. Findings and Discussion

5. Conclusion

Abstract:

This article looks at the construction and performance of gendered identity through a sub-section of Facebook web pages belonging to the Slut Walk movement. Our analysis suggests that gender is constructed through the subjects’ participation in the ‘post-feminist masquerade’ through which their gendered identity is defined in relation to a hegemonic masculine ideal. This situates the web pages within a space characterized through the ambivalent and appropriative treatment of feminism and further, coiled within an acute tension between feminist and post-feminist discourses. Acts of resistance are framed as individual, momentary ruptures of Judith Butler’s heterosexual matrix of ‘cultural intelligibility.’ The online context of these ruptures is found to vest a creative potential, by removing the constraints of time and location, indicating that the impact of these ruptures may extend beyond its immediate environment.

Citation:

Cook, J. and Hasmath, R. (2014) “The Discursive Construction and Performance of Gendered Identity on Social Media”, Current Sociology 62(7): 975-993.

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Contents:

1. Introduction

2. The Original Conception

3. Conflation with the China Model of Development

4. Future Direction and Implications for China

Abstract:

The Beijing Consensus represents a philosophical movement towards an ultra-pragmatic view of conducting policy deliberation. Contrary to models of development which provide a subset of policy prescriptions for the policymakers’ disposal or a fundamentalist adherence to a particular economic tradition, the Beijing Consensus inherently recognises that each development scenario has a potential set of challenges that may require unique and/or experimental solutions factoring the current political, economic and social environments. This ultra-pragmatism will require the policymaker to engage in greater policy experimentation, and to have a larger risk-elasticity. Further, this philosophy is most aptly demonstrated by looking at the aggregation of practices and lessons learned using the recent policy experiences of China. Ironically, this leads to a potential confusion regarding the analytical distinction between the Beijing Consensus and the Chinese model of development. This article outlines this distinction, and further theorises the potential consequences of employing an ultra-pragmatic view of policy deliberation espoused by the intentionality of the Beijing Consensus.

Citation:

Hasmath, R. (2017) “White Cat, Black Cat or Good Cat? The Beijing Consensus as an Alternative Philosophy for Policy Deliberation”, China’s World 2(1): 12-24.

Available in Chinese:

白猫，黑猫还是好猫？“北京共识” 作为政策思维的另类哲学

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Contents:

1. Introduction

2. Context

3. One China, But Varying Regional Disparities

4. Current State of Intellectual Property Enforcement in China

5. Impact of EU Technical Assistance

6. Conclusion

Abstract:

This article evaluates the effectiveness of two major European Union technical assistance programmes, IPR2 and IP Key, in shaping China’s regional intellectual property (IP) enforcement. It argues that although technical assistance programmes have been effective in influencing the national IP legal framework, it has been less successful in assisting regional policy enforcement. This is primarily the result of divergent economic priorities at the sub-national level. The article further assesses potential priorities for future IP technical assistance.

Citation:

Wyzycka, N. and Hasmath, R. (2017) “The Impact of the European Union’s Policy Towards China’s Intellectual Property Regime”, International Political Science Review 38(5): 549-562.

Available in Chinese, French and German:

欧盟政策对中国知识产权制度的影响

L'impact de la politique de l'Union européenne sur le régime de propriété intellectuelle de la Chine

Die Auswirkungen der Politik der Europäischen Union auf Chinas Regime des geistigen Eigentums

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Contents:

1. Introduction

2. State Ethnic Management and Rising Ethno-Cultural Consciousness

3. Migration and Settlement Patterns

4. The Division of Labour

5. Marketization and the Rise of Ethno-Cultural Consciousness

6. Discussion and Conclusion

Abstract:

In the past few years there has been a rise of inter-ethnic violence in China. While ethno-cultural repression and ineffective state policies are correctly attributed as key culprits behind this reality, this article suggests that socio-economic factors play a fundamental contributory role as well. Using the Xinjiang case, the article maps ethnic tensions and violence as a manifestation and expression of a growing and heighten ethno-cultural consciousness stemming from ethnic minorities’ low socio-economic status due, in part, to internal Han migration, and a labour market process – involving agency and structure – that has shaped a split and segmented labour market.

Citation:

Hasmath, R. (2019) “What Explains the Rise of Majority-Minority Tensions and Conflict in Xinjiang?”, Central Asian Survey 38(1): 46-60.

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Qu’est-ce qui explique la montée des tensions et des conflits entre majorités et minorités au Xinjiang?

Wie lässt sich die Zunahme von Spannungen und Konflikten zwischen der Mehrheit und der Minderheit in Xinjiang erklären?

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Contents:

1. The Future of Working in Government

2. The Facts

3. Variables for Consideration

4. Potential Scenarios

5. Trends

6. The Transformation of Work

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Contents:

1. Increasing Female Participation

2. Horizontal Gender Segregation

3. Vertical Gender Segregation

4. The Gender Penalty

5. Women and the Public Sector

6. Interactional Process

7. Wages and Reward Expectations

8. Job Satisfaction: An Alternative Perspective 

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This talk looks at how states can effectively apologize and have a long-lasting positive effect on the aggrieved party. See the accompanying paper here.

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Contents:

1. Introduction

2. A Working Definition of a GONGO

3. How do GONGOs Fit into the Civil Society Framework?

4. GONGOs versus NGOs

5. Effects on State and Society Relations

6. Conclusion

Abstract:

This article offers a conceptual framework to identify and analyze the contemporary behavior of the paradoxical government-organized, non-governmental organization (GONGO). We discuss how GONGOs’ activities fit within mainstream civil society theories and traditions. Furthermore, we compare and analyze GONGOs and NGOs in terms of their sources of power, main activities and functions, and dilemmas. Finally, we theorize the effects, and implications, the growth of GONGOs has on state and society relations globally.

Citation:

Hasmath, R., Hildebrandt, T. and Hsu, J. (2019) “Conceptualizing Government-Organized Non-Governmental Organizations”, Journal of Civil Society 15(3): 267-284.

Available in Chinese, German and Russian:

概念化政府组织的非政府组织

Eine Begriffsbestimmung für staatlich organisierte Nichtregierungsorganisationen

Концептуализация правительски-организованных неправительственных организаций

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Contents:

1. Educational Attainment in Toronto

2. The Labour Market

3. Occupational Outcomes in Toronto

4. Explaining the Penalty: Discrimination?

5. Explaining the Penalty: Social Network

6. Explaining the Penalty: Working Culture

7. Explaining the Penalty: Social Trust

8. Alleviating the Penalty

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Contents:

1. What is a Professional?

2. Development of the Professional

3. Professional Projects

4. Transformation of Professional Work

5. Increasing Diversity of Professional Work Settings

6. Control Structures

7. The Future: Diversification of Interests?

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Contents:

1. The Incentives for Innovation

2. Innovation Under Recentralization

3. Ineffective Vertical Incentives

4. Differing Base Preferences

5. Communities of Practice

6. Implications

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Contents:

1. Rethinking the Social Justice Argument  

2. The Next Generation Argument 

3. Steps for Improvement

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Contents:

1. When Can Ethnic Groups Cooperate? 

2. Ethnic Diversity 

3. Ethnicity and Social Capital

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Contents:

1. Income and Ethnic Participation by Occupational Sectors 

2. Labour Market Participation and Unemployment 

3. Ethnic Penalties in the Labour Market 

4. Discrimination 

5. Social Networks 

6. Working Culture 

7. Confidence 

8. Social Trust

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Contents:

1. Green Alliances 

2. Strategic Bridging 

3. Case Study: Greenpeace and Foron Alliance

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Contents:

1. The Evolution of Humanitarian Action 

2. The Dunantist-Wilsonian Split 

3. Funding 

4. NGO-Donor Relationship 

5. Advocacy 

6. Future Prognosis

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Contents:

1. Ethnic Enclave Economy Hypothesis 

2. Explanations for Ethnic Enclaves  

3. The Toronto Case 

4. Distribution of Concentrated Populations in Toronto 

5. Residential and Occupational Concentration 

6. Immigrant Entrepreneurship 

7. Human Capital 

8. Education as Human Capital Investment 

9. Inter-Generational Transmission of Human Capital 

10. On the Ground Human Capital Accumulation Experiences 

11. Educational Attainments of Immigrant Groups in Toronto

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Contents:

1. International Human Rights Issue Network 

2. How Have NGOs Fostered Human Rights Regimes? 

3. International and Domestic NGOs 

4. Foundations and Funders 

5. Networks and Governments

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Contents:

1. The Institutional Environment 

2. The Epistemic Awareness of NGOs 

3. Broader Implications

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Contents:

1. Foreign Funding 

2. Internal Factors to the Organization 

3. External Factors to the Organization 

4. Foreign Non-Funding Support 

5. Public Support 

6. The Private Sector 

7. Generating your Own Income 

8. Resource Mobilization Issues 

9. The Proposal

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Contents:

1. Short History on International Migration 

2. Triangular Trade 

3. Labour Migration Patterns, 1850-1920 

4. Theories of Migration 

5. Contemporary International Migration 

6. Global Migratory Movements, Post-1973 

7. International Migrant Stock 

8. Migration and Development 

9. The Immigration Debate 

10. Australia’s ‘People Swap’ Response

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Contents:

1. Introduction

2. From State Corporatism to Societal Corporatism?

3. The Local Corporatist State

4. The Lessons of Chinese Corporatism

Abstract:

Since 1949, China has tried a large number of successful and not-so-successful corporatist experiments. What these phases have in common is a ‘state corporatist’ (top-down) approach, albeit with shifting degrees of state involvement; and in the present era, a snail’s pace effort towards building a ‘societal corporatism’ (bottom-up). Over the same time period, we have also witnessed a shift from a centrally controlled corporatist state to one in which the local state has greater space to implement corporatist techniques – allowing the formation of business and professional associations at the local level, and providing them a space for local state-directed bargaining. As China embarks on its next decade, a consideration of Chinese corporatism is useful in two respects. First, foreign corporations and governments who engage in China, particularly if they come from pluralist-competitive societies, tend to misunderstand the nexus of businesses, organizations, and the state. They wrongful presume that state direction and corruption are synonymous. A more nuanced understanding of Chinese corporatism, however, leads to an important second point – that some lessons learned by Chinese experiments in corporatism, during the very period of its ascent to becoming an economic superpower, may be beneficial for foreign policymakers considering paths to a more stable public life.

Citation:

Hasmath, R. (2020) “The Century of Chinese Corporatism”, American Affairs 4(1): 194-206.

Available in Chinese, German and Russian:

中国社团主义世纪

Das Jahrhundert des chinesischen Korporatismus

Век китайского корпоративизма

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Contents:

1. NGOs Sources of Power 

2. NGOs Main Functions 

3. NGOs Dilemmas 

4. The P.R. China Case

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Contents:

1. NGO Constitution 

2. Governance 

3. Two Basic Advocacy Strategies 

4. Programs and Projects 

5. The Project 

6. Risks 

7. Benefits

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Contents:

1. P.R. China 

2. Ethnic Minority Protections in China 

3. The Feasibility of Implementing Multicultural Policies in China 

4. The Beijing Case: An Indicator of Future National Success? 

5. The Future of Multiculturalism in China 

6. Australia

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Contents: 

1. The United Kingdom 

2. Continental Europe 

3. Germany 

4. France

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Contents:

1. First Wave of Immigration: 1946 to 1965 

2. Second Wave of Immigration: 1966 to 1995 

3. Ethnic Composition of Total Population in Toronto, 1971 – 2001 

4. What is Multiculturalism? 

5. Multiculturalism in Practice 

6. Interactions and Representation  

7. Caribana Street Parade, Toronto 

8. How does Group Representation Affect Life Chances?

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Contents:

1. Bureaucratic Structure of Coordination 

2. High Quality Bureaucrats 

3. Public Risk Absorption 

4. Private Sector Initiatives in Public Policies 

5. The Future of Government-Private Enterprise Relationships 

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Contents:

1. Setting the Context 

2. MNE-Government Relations Models 

3. Governed Market Theory 

4. Governed Interdependence Theory 

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Contents:

1. Principal-Agent Theory

2. The USA Case

3. Accountability and Transparency

4. The China Case

5. Is There a Role for the General Public?

6. Improving the Activities of I/NGOs

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Contents:

1. Potential Explanations for Low Levels of Collaboration

2. Neo-Institutional Theory

3. The Institutional Environment in China

4. Collaborative Efforts

5. Risk of Competition and Absorption

6. The Epistemic Awareness of NGOs

7. The Professionalization of NGOs

8. Broader Implications

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Contents:

1. Power

2. Class

3. Property

4. Class Struggle

5. Status Groups

6. Parties

7. Power and Domination

8. Legitimacy

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Contents:

1. Organizational Forms

2. Structural Inertia

3. Generalist and Specialist Organizations

4. Organizational Diversity

5. The Demography and Ecology of Organizations

6. Criticism

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Contents:

1. New Institutionalism

2. Institutional Myths and Legitimacy

3. Isomorphism

4. Three Types of Pressures

5. Predictors of Isomorphic Change

6. Sub-Fields of Institutionalism

7. Support for Institutional Theory

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Contents:

1. Underlying Framework

2. Needs of an Individual

3. The Work Environment

4. The Hawthorne Studies

5. Applications

6. Criticism

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Contents:

1. Principles of Scientific Management 

2. Contribution to Organizational Theory

3. Critiques

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Contents:

1. Civil Society and State Separation  

2. Three Generations of CSOs 

3. State-CSO Relationships 

4. State-CSO Models 

5. CSOs and State Passivity 

6. The P.R. China Case

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Contents:

1. State Collapse 

2. Ethnic Grievances 

3. Nationalist Mobilization and Conflict 

4. What are Conditions for Violence?  

5. Collective Action Theory  

6. The Role of History 

7. Barriers to Peace 

8. Civil Wars are Not All Alike  

9. Ending Ethnic Wars 

10. The Role of Territory  

11. The Role of Security 

12. The Role of Demography 

13. Towards Peace

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Contents:

1. Essential Features of the Bureaucracy 

2. Legitimate Authority 

3. Bureaucracy and Rationality

4. Bureaucracy and Efficiency

5. Lessons Learned

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Contents:

1. The Concept 

2. What is Civil Society? 

3. The Public Sphere 

4. Global Civil Society is not Civil Society in an International Context 

5. Global Civil Society is not Universal 

6. Competing Claims About Global Civil Society

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Contents:

1. Ethnic Identity and Violence 

2. Ethnic Boundaries Expansion and Contraction 

3. The Political Salience of Ethnicity 

4. Directional Theory 

5. The Ethnic Party 

6. Ethnic Voting 

7. Ethnic Mobilization 

8. Ethnic Coalitions 

9. Group Belonging and Ethno-Nationalism

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Contents:

1. Historical Traditions

2. What is an Organization?

3. The Complex Organization

4. Segmenting the Organization

5. Working in the Modern Government

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Contents:

1. What is an Ethnic Group? 

2. The Dilemma of Ethnic Differences 

3. From Group Characteristics to Social and Political Processes 

4. Ethnicity in Canada 

5. The Social Construction of Identity 

6. The Individual ‘Ethnic Self’

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Contents: 

1. NGOs Sources of Power 

2. NGOs Main Functions 

3. NGO Dilemmas

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Australia is at the front line of debate over ‘new welfare’. Up until the turn of the century, Australia’s model of ‘wage earners’ welfare’ was commonly recognised as an Antipodean exception to Esping Andersen’s threefold typology of welfare regimes. Its characteristically residual approach to state welfare provision was explained not as evidence of a liberal regime but rather the result of an historical preference for a regulated ‘living wage’ as a substitute for welfare. However, in the 1990s the institutional basis of the model was largely removed by extensive labour market deregulation leaving Australia very much in need of a ‘new welfare’ architecture.

With its employment centred, wage based, productivist welfare tradition, it is not surprising that Australia has experienced a pronounced shift from ‘welfare’ to ‘social investment’ in keeping with the British and EU trend but also in line with the ‘inclusive growth’ thinking in development policy post the Washington consensus. Here, Sen’s capability framework has proved an important bridge in the reintegration of economic and social policy. While welcoming this rehabilitation of the productive value of social investment, the talk also observes the shadowy side of this policy renewal. This is found in the diminution of the ‘welfare’ roles of protection and compensation along internationally recognized lines in terms of the ‘great risk shift’. A rebalancing of the investment and protection functions is proposed as the basis of a durable ‘new welfare’ policy architecture for Australia.

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The current financial crisis is evidence of the difficulty that the world’s most advanced capitalist nations face with regard to returning to a more stable path of economic expansion. This debacle is yet another indication that there are currently very few solutions that can ensure continued technological advancement and the associated productivity gains. While there is a desperate search for quick fix solutions to the current problems such as trying to gain consensus on the Basel principles, these are far too minimal to address the fundamental discordances in the global economic system. Radical and innovative answers lies not in tinkering with the existing system, but in looking at the distinctive and systematically different manner in which new global players are engaging new principles to manage their domestic economy as well as the international stage.

The crisis has led to a questioning of the current paradigm of economic development where the development experience of new players and the value of heterodox methods could be accorded new, as well as greater, value. The focus of this talk will be on the distinctive manner in which the national level development strategy in Central and South Asia has identified the particular arenas and mechanisms where the state is to take on the role of the regulator in the provision of goods and services. The talk will identify how these conceptualizations affect the form of partnership with regard to key features: the transfer of ownership from state-owned businesses; procurement arrangements to purchase private services; subsidies and franchises provided to the private sector; arrangements for use of knowledge and finance in the both public and private sector developed in each nation. The consequences of such classification will permit both a differentiation and comparative analysis of the economic development strategy in each nation to understand the key institutional features devised by each nation to upgrade and transform its economic production and human development.

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This talk will assess China’s development over the last thirty years and seek to understand whether its development experiences can be extrapolated as a “development model” for other developing nations. The talk will primarily examine the social aspects of China’s transformation – situated within the context of unprecedented growth – for example, the increasing role of civil society stakeholders. Corporatist and developmental frameworks have come to the fore at different points in time to explain China’s unprecedented economic growth. The corporatist framework suggests that the Chinese state remains in power through its coordinating efforts with social stakeholders, such as civil society stakeholders. By permitting some level autonomy, it does not erode the power of the state, rather, it is moving from state control to indirect state coordination. China’s economic success has also been likened to the East Asian developmental state model, where the central state is the director of industrialisation and modernisation efforts and subsequently leading to high rates of economic growth. However, with the developmental state model, there is little room to account for the influence of local forces, as it assumes that all stakeholders are beholden to the central state’s goals. Both models of development apply to different phases of China’s development. In essence, the talk will ask the question of whether we can establish a development model that is specific to China, with an eye on social and economic aspects of the nation’s transformation, and under what circumstances can such experiences become a model of development and replicated elsewhere.

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The Beijing Consensus represents an analytical dilemma. First, it lacks a codified set of principles and policy tools and as such, it can be a difficult model for policy makers to utilize in their deliberation. Relatedly, in the search for a concrete set of principles and policy tools, the literature has a tendency to simultaneously conflate the Beijing Consensus with the “Chinese model of development” – a red herring to say the least – with the relevant critiques following suit. This talk suggests that the Beijing Consensus represents a philosophical movement towards an ultra-pragmatic view of development policy. Contrary to models of development which provide a subset of policy prescriptions at the policy makers’ disposal (e.g. Washington Consensus) or a fundamentalist adherence to a particular economic tradition (e.g. neo-liberalism), the philosophical intentionality of the Beijing Consensus is reflected in the infamous words of Deng Xiaoping “I do not care if it is a white cat or a black cat … It is a good cat so long as it catches mice”. In short, the Beijing Consensus inherently recognizes that each development scenario has a potential set of challenges that may require unique solutions factoring the social, economic and political environments. Ironically, this is aptly demonstrated using the recent development experiences of China, and select Asian nations.

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Pier Carlo Padoan, Chief Economist and Deputy Secretary-General, OECD.   

The recognition of widening income gaps within most OECD nations over the past decades has highlighted concerns that structural reforms may increase income inequality. Such concerns have gained further prominence in the context of the global crisis, particularly in nations where current reform action is being driven primarily by fiscal consolidation objectives. 

The distribution of income is not only shaped by long-term trends like changes in policies and institutions, technological change or globalization, but is also affected, sometimes durably, by macroeconomic shocks such as the recent financial crisis. Based on empirical analysis of 40 OECD and BRIICS nations over 30 years, we have explored the distributive effects of macroeconomic shocks on both income and employment, and the role of policies and institutions in shaping such policies. The analysis identifies who gains and loses, and sheds light on the articulation between risk-sharing and growth objectives. 

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Martin Ravallion, Chief Economist and Senior Vice President, World Bank.

The developing world has made considerable progress against absolute poverty in aggregate terms, but with uneven progress across nations and regions. There are also rising concerns about inequality in many nations, and (related) concerns that the global growth processes have not been sufficiently inclusive. There is a puzzling aspect in all of this: while the overall incidence of poverty is falling in the developing world, it is not falling any faster in its poorest nations. In short, we do not see poverty convergence. That is puzzling if we accept two widely-held “stylized facts” about economic development, namely that there is an “advantage of backwardness” – higher growth rates in nations starting out with a low mean – and that there is an “advantage of growth,” whereby a higher mean income tends to come with a lower incidence of absolute poverty. The advantage of backwardness should mean that nations starting out with a low mean income and hence, high incidence of poverty should see a higher subsequent growth rate and consequently, higher pace of poverty reduction. However, this is not evident in the data. This talk will review the evidence on this issue and suggest a solution to the puzzle – a solution that throws new light on the importance of addressing inequality to making growth more pro-poor. Consistently with theoretical models of economic growth incorporating borrowing constraints, the talk will suggest that there is a direct adverse effect on the consumption growth process of high initial poverty incidence at a given initial mean consumption. A high incidence of poverty also entails a lower subsequent rate of progress against poverty at any given growth rate. Thus, for many poor nations, the growth advantage of starting out with a low mean income is lost due to a dynamic handicap associated with the high initial incidence of poverty. This dynamic “disadvantage of poverty” appears to sit side-by-side with other factors impeding poverty reduction, such as human underdevelopment and policy distortions. These new research findings point to the importance of both redistributive policies in poor nations and efforts to make markets work better for poor people.

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Concluding remarks. 

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Commentary by Rachel Laforest (Queen's University). 

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Commentary by Nicholas Pope (Canada Fund in China).

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Commentary by Thomas B. Gold (University of California at Berkeley).

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The China Youth Development Foundation (CYDF) is one of China's largest and most famous charitable organizations, known primarily for its Project Hope campaign to raise money for rural schools and schoolchildren. In scholarly literature, CYDF is most often characterized as a GONGO, a government-organized NGO. Based on interviews with CYDF’s founder, leader, employees, volunteers, and beneficiaries, this paper offers an in-depth analysis of CYDF’s relationship with the state in order to provide one case study of a Chinese GONGO. According to my findings, the label GONGO may be inaccurate and misleading. Although CYDF has had a very close and entangling relationship with the Chinese party state since its inception in 1989, it was neither founded nor organized by the government. Instead, CYDF and the Chinese party-state have a mutually beneficial relationship which manifests itself differently at different levels. At the national level, CYDF’s central headquarters works hard to maintain good relationships with important actors in the central government. At the county level, however, CYDF treats local party-state offices as subcontractors, outsourcing out much of its work to low level bureaucrats. At the ground level, the school administrators, teachers, and families that benefit from the Project Hope assume that CYDF is a part of the government, a belief that both benefits and constrains the organization. The GONGO label implies that the state holds the power and its relationship over the NGO. My research indicates that NGOs in China may actually manipulate and exploit the state.

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Scholarly attention has been increasingly paid to the emergence of Chinese NGOs. And while we have a better understanding of how these organizations rose within an otherwise closed political environment, we know considerably less about the rapidly changing nature of NGO development and, therefore, the potential future of these organizations, especially in a ‘post-success’ environment. How will Chinese NGOs confront a future where the state is better able to deal with social problems, and thus no longer needs their assistance in social service delivery? In addition, how can Chinese NGOs survive where they lack domestic sources of funding and foreign donors are retreating? To deal with these constraints, many Chinese NGOs have adopted new models of funding that resemble more social enterprise than NGO. However, we lack theoretical understanding of this shift: on one hand, there are very few compelling theories to understand changes within NGO orientation, especially when an NGO becomes something decidedly different; on the other hand, scholars of social entrepreneurship have yet to present compelling explanations for why an organization becomes a social enterprise from a different form. As such, in this paper I posit a political economy explanation for this activist adaptation in China, showing how the limited economic resources and the closed political environment compels NGOs to operate more as business if they wish to continue their work unabated. In doing so, I also present conceptual frameworks for understanding future of NGOs far outside China, not just in closed polities, but more open ones as well.

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This paper suggests that a lack of meaningful collaboration between the state and NGOs in China is not necessarily a result of a state that is seeking to restrict the development of the sector, or a fear of a potential opposing actor to the state. Instead, interviews with NGOs in Beijing and Shanghai suggest that a lack of meaningful collaboration between the state and NGOs can be partially attributed to isomorphic pressures within state-NGO relations, and insufficient epistemic awareness of NGO activities and their utility on the part of the state. In fact, the evidence suggests that once epistemic awareness is achieved by the state, they will have a stronger desire to work with NGOs – with the caveat that the state will seek to utilize the material power of NGOs rather than their symbolic, interpretive or geographical capital.

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Since the early 2000s, the central government has encouraged local governments to begin contracting out the provision of social services, such as education and health services, to both for and non-profit organizations to meet increasing demands for social services and to modernize the Chinese bureaucracy. As non-profits are uniquely situated in communities, contracting with non-profit organizations might improve public policies if mechanisms are created to allow these organizations’ experiences and social innovation to feed back into the policy process. The two cases examined in this paper, HIV service contracting in Yunnan and migrant education contracting in Shanghai, illustrate that current policy solutions result in greater service provision but not the capture and feedback of information into public policy. In response to these findings, we recommend creation of legal/financial infrastructure that will encourage social innovation by non-profits and contracting policy solutions that mandate policy feedback mechanisms.

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Mainland China is experiencing a striking upsurge of non-governmental associational activities in the past thirty years, especially since the mid-1990s. However, it is hard to introduce a simple approach, such as civil society or corporatism, to justify the nature of the emerging sector, because of the high diversity and contradictions among these new so-called NGOs. Based on comprehensive data of NGOs in China, this paper summarizes the diversity and contradictions into four dimensions: independent/dependent, non-profit/for-profit, formal/informal, and modern/traditional. Each of these dimensions has had and will have great impacts on the engagement of the civic associations in the public policy making and governance in China. It is increasingly difficult for the government to regulate this diverse sector through a uniform policy framework. Thus, scholars have proposed the theory of “graduated control” to explain the transformation of the regulation system of associations, and to describe the changing nature of state-society relations in China. Although the ideal-type of “graduated control” theory can potentially overcome the deficits of the dichotomy methodology, it still oversimplifies this sector by focusing only on the political and public service dimensions. This paper will try to add an administrative dimension to reveal how these contradictions influence the regulations of NGOs in Mainland China.

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The March 2013 National People’s Congress meetings included an announcement of huge significance for the legal environment for NPOs in China. As part of a far-reaching plan to reorganize and streamline government, the highest level of the Party-state announced that the Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA) is to work with the State Council to implement new regulations for the registration of NPOs. The general outline of the implementation of the policy is as follows: (1) Two different types of organizations are to be permitted to directly register and engage in market competition; these are trade associations and chambers of commerce. (2) Other types of organizations will also be permitted to directly register: those engaged in training activities, commerce and technical activities, charitable activities, and public benefit activities, and those involved in the provision of urban and rural services; they do not require any other inspection or authorizations. (3) “Political, legal, and religious” organizations do not come within the new regime. The former two are said to be “problematic,” while religious organizations have their own registration regime entirely. (4) The entire system of registration and management is to be clarified and modernized. This paper analyzes the new policy, what led up to it, and the ways in which it reflects developments over the past several years that are discussed in the author’s new book Civil Society in China: The Legal Framework from Ancient Times to the ‘New Reform Era’ (Oxford University Press, 2013).

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The Chinese state, in the twenty-first century, is an increasingly heterogeneous entity comprised of multiple layers and spaces. This diversity is, in part, attributable to the rise of non-governmental organizations operating in China. This paper examines how state and NGOs transform each other. I argue that we need to problematize and thus reconceptualize the Chinese “state” to include a spatial dimension. I demonstrate this through a case study of migrant NGOs in Beijing and Shanghai where these NGOs are making strong efforts to engage with central and local authorities. This is a significant turn of events. I contend that the local state is becoming more crucial in the work and activities of NGOs. It is the growing presence of the local state that constructs the notion of the state as a spatial entity and thus, layered. In an era where NGOs are proliferating in the nation, the Chinese state is engaging with society as a means to remain relevant and legitimate. Through this process of engagement, the state is penetrating different spaces to ensure its survival. Space here should be construed in both the geographical sense – Beijing and Shanghai in the case of this paper – and also as a social process, that is, NGOs and their work represent a domain in which different layers of the state are engaging with but have also permeated. This paper will assess the strategies adopted by both state and NGOs in their engagement with each other to assess the success of their attempts to shape their institutional environment. The adoption of a multi-level analysis of the Chinese state unveils varying degrees of coercion and co-optation at play when it comes to understanding state-NGO relations in China.

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Citizens in China generally have a great deal of trust for political institutions. Yet the broader Chinese public is much more skeptical of NGOs. Chinese NGOs suffer from relatively low levels of public trust in two senses. First, Chinese trust NGOs much less than they do government institutions. Second, compared to other East Asian states, Chinese trust their NGOs much less than do other East Asians. Drawing upon two waves of surveys of popular attitudes towards NGOs, this paper will examine the determinants of trust in NGOs. The paper analyzes a number of factors that influence trust in NGOs, including social capital, political trust, political ties, socioeconomic status, media exposure and contact with NGOs.

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Since the 1990’s, Chinese (liberal) intellectuals have begun to compose the vision of civil society as the future of the development of Chinese society. Is China a kind of civil society? My answer is Yes. In fact, the pursuit of civil society was a part of the building of “modern society” from the revolution of 1911. Though the progress was broken by the socialist revolution in 1950’s, the giving up of class struggle around 1980 resumed the progress. The framework of three-sector social theory is very helpful for us to judge if China is a civil society. If we can agree to include grass-rooted and traditional associations such as lineages and temple fair organizations in the third sector, pay more attention to co-operations among different organizations, and notice the third sector can be represented by independent individuals, the third sector has been emerging and can be identifiable as a whole, visible in media and especially in new media, and experienced in daily life of Chinese people.

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This talk revisits a framework for analyzing state-NGO relations that appeared in State and Society Responses to Social Welfare Needs in China (Routledge, 2009). I argued that the dominant frameworks used to analyze state-NGO relations in China – corporatism and civil society – did not provide a comprehensive understanding of the diversity of state-civil society interactions in China. I proposed instead examining state-NGO interactions through three modes of state-society interaction: regulation, negotiation and societalization. Regulation describes a top-down formal process initiated by the state to manage social actors and initiatives. Negotiation describes consensual, and generally more informal, interactions initiated by either the state or the social actor. Societalization is a process initiated by the social actor to create space and autonomy through initiatives in which the state is not a partner. These modes cover a wide range of state-society interactions, but are analytically distinct. Each mode corresponds to different theoretical models of state-society relations, different roles and interests for state and social actors, and different unintended consequences that help us account for future changes in the state-society relationship. Using this modal analysis, I argued that over the last decade (1997-2007), regulation was not very effective, and that negotiation and societalization had become the dominant modes. There were, in other words, few signs of a “state-led civil society”. In this talk, I examine changes in state-NGO interactions since 2007, arguing that the last few years have been marked by greater attention to strengthening regulation and other efforts to bring NGOs from the margins into the mainstream. As a result of these changes, we have seen a greater range of negotiation taking place, and the narrowing of options for societalization, giving rise to concerns among NGOs about losing their independent status as the state plays a more assertive role in guiding civil society.

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Welcome and introduction.

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This talk looks at explanations for the rise of ethnic minority tensions in China.

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This talk looks at the relationship between the NGO and the state in China.

See the accompanying papers here and here.

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This talk looks at European migrants and their integration in the labour market.

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This talk looks at the contemporary (dis-)integration of ethnic minorities in Xinjiang.

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This talk looks at the drivers for contemporary EU-China strategic engagement.

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This talk looks at whether Canada is shaping a new model for managing the refugee crisis.

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This talk looks at contemporary ethnic minority experiences in the labour market by focusing on describing the 'ethnic penalty' that emerges when analyzing the relationship between the educational and occupational levels of ethnic minority members.  While intuitively, overt discrimination insofar as one's physical appearance or linguistic abilities, and first generation immigrant status, are often cited as prevailing reasons to explain the 'ethnic penalty', the findings presented in this talk will suggest that explanatory factors such as an individual’s social network, a firm’s working culture, and social trust in a community are equally important considerations.  Moreover, the talk will consider potential policy options to alleviate the 'ethnic penalty' by examining best practices from international jurisdictions.

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This talk suggests that the ‘Beijing Consensus’ represents an analytical dilemma: it lacks a codified set of principles and policy tools and as such, it can be a difficult model for policymakers to utilize in their deliberation. Relatedly, in the search for a concrete set of principles and policy tools, the literature has a tendency to simultaneously conflate the ‘Beijing Consensus’ with the Chinese model of development – a red herring to say the least – with the relevant critiques following suit. Instead, the ‘Beijing Consensus’ should be viewed as a philosophical movement towards an ultra-pragmatic view of development policy. This in turn, can provide room for greater policy experimentation.

See the accompanying paper here.

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This talk looks at the strategies Chinese NGOs employ to survive and operate in an authoritarian institutional environment. What happens when Chinese NGOs that are born and socialized in such a domestic context, “go out” to other jurisdictions with similar or varying regime types? Finally, I will suggest that the internationalization of Chinese NGOs will foster a more pluralized global civil society. Ultimately, this will require us to rethink salient precepts and practices in international development.

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