Jessica Teets, a Professor at Middlebury College and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Chinese Political Science, dives into the complexities of China's governance under Xi Jinping. She discusses the concept of fragmented authoritarianism and its implications for local governance. Teets highlights the central government's increasing control, the struggles local officials face, and the impacts of digitization. The conversation also touches on how Xi's centralization efforts affect policymaking and what this means for China's future amid ongoing reforms.
Fragmented authoritarianism in China allows local officials significant discretion, leading to varied regional responses and policy implementation challenges.
Xi Jinping's centralization efforts aim to enhance state capacity through strict performance metrics, potentially diminishing local adaptation and engagement in governance.
Deep dives
Understanding Governance in China
China's governance, particularly in the context of fragmented authoritarianism, is crucial for comprehending the state's operational dynamics. Individuals often wonder how citizens can influence governmental decisions in an authoritarian setting. The concept highlights a significant 'black box' in governance where local officials wield substantial discretion, leading to varied policy implementation across different regions. This dynamic interaction between central directives from Beijing and local responses illustrates the complexity of governance in a rapidly changing political landscape.
The Framework of Fragmented Authoritarianism
Fragmented authoritarianism refers to the dispersion of authority across various levels of China's government, contradicting the assumption of a unified command structure. This fragmented framework allows for overlapping responsibilities among multiple ministries, which complicates clear accountability and responsibility. The framework has persisted as a durable model for understanding Chinese politics, as it emphasizes the complexities and negotiations inherent in policy implementation. As a result, the disparities in governance can lead to either innovative policy solutions or significant implementation gaps, dependent on local capacities.
Xi Jinping's Centralization and Governance Model
Xi Jinping's administration has marked a shift towards centralization, focusing on addressing the shortcomings of China's fragmented governance model. He perceives the flexibility and discretion within local governance as problematic, often leading to poor policy implementation and corruption. By streamlining bureaucratic processes and establishing quantifiable monitoring metrics, Xi aims to enhance state capacity and enforce consistency across the country. However, this shift raises concerns about the potential rigidity of governance, which might hinder local adaptation and compromise the responsiveness seen in China's fast-evolving political context.
Impacts of Centralization on Local Governance
Local officials in China are experiencing increased pressures due to Xi Jinping's centralization initiatives, as they're now required to meet strict performance metrics set by the central government. This creates a stressful environment where discretion is diminished, leading to a form of bureaucratic adherence that lacks local engagement in problem-solving. Many local cadres report deteriorating job satisfaction and reputation, with some resigning from their positions as they feel overwhelmed by new demands. This raises concerns about the long-term effectiveness of governance, as the ability of local officials to adapt policies to their communities may weaken if they become mere formal implementers of central directives.
In this episode of Pekingology, originally released on April 8, 2021, Freeman Chair Jude Blanchette is joined by Jessica Teets, then an Associate Professor in the Political Science Department at Middlebury College (now Professor at Middlebury College and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Chinese Political Science), to discuss her work on China's evolving governance system.
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