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| 1 |
ID:
136993
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| Summary/Abstract |
The proliferation of civic groups has been one of the most intriguing features of China’s societal transformation over the past three decades. The massive spread of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) has given rise to a broad debate among China scholars about the nature of Chinese state–NGO relations. Several authors have developed theoretical concepts that highlight and explain the multifaceted and highly complex nature of relations between civic organizations and the party-state. Against this backdrop we develop the notion of embeddedness versus marginalization to unravel these complexities and clarify ambiguities. Drawing on in-depth case studies of nine Chinese NGOs working with children and youth, this article proposes a comprehensive conceptualization of Chinese civic groups’ political embeddedness versus marginalization. First, we identify three separate indicators of embeddedness: formal registration, informal ties with public authorities, and the political economy of NGO–government relations. Second, we discuss three factors that have a major influence on these indicators of embeddedness. While some of the dynamics discussed might be specific to children and youth NGOs, comparisons with the findings on NGOs working in different fields suggest that the notion of embeddedness versus marginalization may also apply to other sectors of social activism. Therefore, our study offers a more nuanced understanding of Chinese state–NGO relations.
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| 2 |
ID:
136996
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| Summary/Abstract |
This article will critique three aspects of the conservative re-sacralization project deemed incongruent with China’s dream of a harmonious world. The first pertains to the prevailing Han-centric rendition of the Confucian tradition. Rebuttals are made in support of an emerging multicultural ‘global Confucianism’, an international movement that would further the Chinese quest for a universal ethical order. The next criticism relates to the proposal by conservatives for a Confucian church and the installation of Confucianism as China’s state religion. In response, counterarguments are advanced for the re-institution of ‘civil Confucianism’. One key issue is whether scholar-officials or clerics can restore a more holistic, pluralistic re-enchanted China. The final contention addresses the conservative melancholic Hobbesian worldview. The Confucian vision, I explain, is essentially sanguine and the clash of civilizations not inevitable. Moreover, China and the United States share core values for both to jointly sustain a harmonious world.
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| 3 |
ID:
136995
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| Summary/Abstract |
This article analyses the legitimation strategies of Chinese labour non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Given the relative newness of NGOs as an organizational form in China and the precarious space they operate in, their survival and development are not primarily a question of establishing autonomy and avoiding state control, as emphasized in the literature on Chinese associations, but rather a question of being perceived as legitimate social actors. This article conceptualizes legitimation as a form of communication in which NGOs articulate discursive elements in specific ways in order to legitimize their identity and voice. Drawing on interviews with 15 labour NGOs working with migrant workers, the article identifies three aspects of NGOs’ legitimation work. First, the NGOs construct their identity and work as social and not political in nature, thus underscoring that they are non-governmental and not anti-governmental organizations. Second, the NGOs give voice to, or represent, migrant workers and their interests by engaging in different forms of advocacy. Third, the NGOs legitimize their voice by referring to their proximity to workers at the grass roots and their specialist knowledge about migrant workers’ living and working conditions. In conclusion, the article argues that issues of power and discourse should be brought into the study of NGOs’ legitimation work.
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| 4 |
ID:
136994
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| Summary/Abstract |
The present case study examines whether international actors constitute an obstacle or opportunity for environmental campaigns against the siting of controversial facilities. Drawing upon field research carried out in Beijing, China, from 4 March until 10 April 2013, this article investigates the siting of the Nangong waste incinerator between the project’s announcement (2010) and conclusion of planning (2013). Specifically, this article studies the relations between a group of local environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs) and the German state-owned development bank Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau while grounding its inquiry in propositions based on a reading of fragmented authoritarianism. In the course of the analysis, it is suggested that the small potential for de-escalating tensions in the ENGO–international actor alliance is dwarfed by ENGOs’ excessive expectations projected upon international actors, competition over narratives as well as a limited scope for political manoeuvring as a result of diplomatic, contractual and commercial obligations. Consequently, the involvement of international actors in NIMBY (not in my backyard) controversies does not present an opportunity for environmental campaigns.
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