The Local Corporatist State and NGO Relations in C

Hsu,J.andHasmath,R.(2014)“TheLocalCorporatistStateandNGORelationsinChina”,JournalofContemporaryChina23(87).1TheLocalCorporatistStateandNGORelationsinChinaJenniferYJHsuandRezaHasmath*ThisarticleexaminestheChinesestate’sinteractionsandinfluencesonthedevelopmentofnon-governmentalorganizations(NGOs)throughacorporatistframework.ItsuggeststhatnotonlyisthecentralstateactivelyinvolvedinthedevelopmentofNGOs,butincreasinglythesuccessesofNGOsaredeterminedbytheirinteractionswiththelocalstate.WeprofileNGOsinShanghai,ofvaryingsizes,budgets,andissue-areas,asacasestudytounderstandtheinterplaybetweenNGOsandthelocalstate.Thearticlefurtherdiscussesreasonsbehindthegrowingshiftfromcentraltolocalstateinfluences,andthepotentialfutureimplicationsforstate-NGOrelationsinChina.IntroductionSincethe1980s,theChinesestatehasgraduallywithdrawnfromthedeliveryofwelfareandsocialservices,creatingspaceforanumericalgrowthofnon-governmentalorganizations(NGOs).Inthespanofnearlythreedecades,approximately440,000officiallyregisteredNGOs–alongsideagreaternumberofunregisteredones–haveemerged.1ThenumericalincreaseofNGOshavetoalargeextentmirroredtherisingsocialchallengescaused,inpart,byeconomicliberalization–withproblemsrangingfromenvironmentaldamagestounsafefoodsbecominganeverydayrealitythatNGOshavesoughttoaddress.Sufficetosay,NGOshaveincreasinglybecomeasignificantfactorinthechangingsociallandscapeinChina.Whereby,NGOsareslowlyreceivingrecognitionfortheirpositivesocialcontributionstosociety,rangingfromsupplementingthestate’sroleinprovidingsocialservicestoeducatingthepublicaboutvarioussocialissues.Infact,localstateactorsarebeingmotivatedtobecomeengagedwithNGOsduetosuchactivities.Forinstance,theproceedingsfromtheThirteenthNationalCivilAffairsmeetinginMarch2012,illustratedthecentralstate’sdesiretoencouragegreaterparticipationofsocialorganizationsinarangeofactivities,intandemwiththelocalstate’seffortstoimproveitssocialassistancesystemtolow-incomehouseholds.2Inthisvein,whiletheroleofthecentralstateininfluencingNGOactivitieshavebeen*JenniferYJHsuisanassistantprofessorintheDepartmentofPoliticalScienceattheUniversityofAlberta.RezaHasmathislecturerinChinesepoliticsattheUniversityofOxford.Theauthorsaregratefulforthecommentsandsuggestionspro[e-mail]@area.ox.ac.uk1PuminYin,“ANewDawnforNGOs:RegistrationRequirementsRelaxedforCharityWork,”BeijingReview,August4,2011,accessedJune20,2012,:243,000socialgroups,195,000privatenon-enterpriseunits,andmorethan2,600foundations.XuYingandZhaoLitao(“China’sRapidlyGrowingNon-GovernmentalOrganizations”EAIBackgroundBriefingNo.514.,2010,p.i)estimatethatthenumberofunregisteredgroupscanbeaslargeastentimesmorethanthenumberofofficiallyregisteredgroups.2People’sDailyOnline“Topleadersmeetcivilaffairsstaff,urgeprogress,”March20,2012,accessedMay7,2012,(2014)“TheLocalCorporatistStateandNGORelationsinChina”,JournalofContemporaryChina23(87).2commenteduponextensively,3thisstudywillprimarilyplacetheanalyticalframeworkatthelocalstatelevel.Specifically,thestudyseekstounderstandthedevelopmentofNGOsbyemployingalocalcorporatiststateframework,andutilizingtheNGOsectorinShanghaiasacaseforanalysis.AttheheartofthisarticleisanattempttounderstandhowlocalauthoritieshaveadoptedandadaptedcorporatistmeasuresintheirengagementwithNGOs.Thearticlewillsuggestthatcorporatistmeasurescontinuetobeemployedbylocalauthoritiesasaneffectivemeansofensuringthepotencyandrelevanceofthelocalstateinarapidlychangingsector.Notwithstanding,thereisnoticeableadaptationofcorporatistmeasures–namely,thelocalstateisutilizingsubtleortacitformsofapprovaltomanagethesector.TheselectionofShanghaiisatestamenttotheemergingvibrantNGOsectorinthecity.ThemunicipalityhasoneofthestrongestrevenuestreamsinChina,andinprinciple,hasthecapacitytodevotestateresourcestosocialissueswithoutthestronginvolvementofNGOs.4Notwithstanding,theShanghaigovernmenthasincreasinglyencouragedthecontractingofsocialservicestoNGOsandthus,presentsaninterestingcasetounderstandhowstateandNGOswillrespondtothechangeswithinthesector.5TheeightNGOsinterviewedinShanghaivaryinsize,budget,andoperateinawidearrayofissues,providingalargerepresentationofthescale,financialresources,andscopeofworkNGOsengagein.RepresentativesoftheNGOswereinterviewedin2007andagain,inlate20116.WhiletheinterviewsdonotofferanationalrepresentationoftheNGOsector,theydoprovideadepictionoftheincreasinginvolvementofthelocalstateintheworkandenvironsofNGOs.Whatdevelopsfromthecasesarethecollaborativeroleofthelocalstateatvariouslevels–particularlyatthemunicipalanddistrictlevel–inpursuingtheobjectivesandoperationaldevelopmentofNGOs.Inshort,howthesecollaborationsevolveandthesubsequentimpactonstate-NGOrelationshipisasalientsubjectofinterest.TheLocalCorporatistStateTheuseofcorporatismhighlightsnotonlyhow