| ID | 141097 |
| Title Proper | Contention between han “civilizers” and yi “civilizees” over environmental governance |
| Other Title Information | a case study of Liangshan prefecture in Sichuan |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Heberer, Thomas |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | During field research on environmental governance in the Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture in 2012, the author studied the Chinese state's efforts to promote its agenda and “civilizing mission,” the resistance of local Yi people to both, and the resulting clash of discourses on environmental protection. To understand the nature and mechanisms involved in this conflict, the author focuses on the state's “civilizing mission” in light of Foucault's power concept. The article examines two issues: 1) the strategies by which the central state exerts power and asserts its policies in a minority area, i.e. how it attempts to steer the behaviour of local cadres in order to implement its modernization concept, and 2) whether and to what degree it makes a difference that the researched area is a “minority” (Yi) area. To answer these questions, one county in the prefecture was taken as a case study. Furthermore, this article continuously refers to the policy field of environmental governance to substantiate the thesis of a civilizing project conducted by the centre. |
| `In' analytical Note | China Quarterly No.219; Sep 2014: p.736-759 |
| Journal Source | China Quarterly No 219 |
| Key Words | Ethnic Minorities ; Environmental Governance ; Chinese State ; Central – Local State Relations ; Civilizing Projects |