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Participation without Contestation: NGOs’ Autonomy and Advocacy in China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 June 2022

Zheng Su ,
Shiqi Ma  and
Changdong Zhang
Zheng Su
Affiliation:
School of International and Public Affairs, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China. E-mail: zhengsu@sjtu.edu.cn.
Shiqi Ma
Affiliation:
Department of Government, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA. Email: sm2732@cornell.edu.
Changdong Zhang*
Affiliation:
Institute of State Governance Studies and School of Government, Peking University, Beijing, China.
*
E-mail: zhangchd@pku.edu.cn (corresponding author).
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Abstract

How do non-governmental organizations (NGOs) advocate public policies? What impacts their advocacy strategies? Although scholars have addressed these questions in a democratic context, less is known about NGO advocacy under powerful authoritarian regimes. Using China as a case study, we develop an institutional explanation of NGOs’ policy advocacy patterns and explore the impacts of NGO autonomy. Using a unique dataset of registered NGOs in three Chinese provinces, we find that NGOs with more autonomy tend to conduct direct negotiations with the government more actively (more political advocacy). However, these more autonomous NGOs are likely to be more hesitant to mobilize society from the bottom up (less social advocacy). These findings enrich our knowledge of social actors’ roles in the policymaking process in China.

摘要

摘要

非政府组织(NGO)如何进行政策倡议？什么因素会影响它们的政策倡议策略？在民主体制语境下, 这些问题得到了持续的研究, 但在非西方民主体制的语境下, 却缺乏足够的关注。本文构建了一个制度分析框架以分析中国非政府组织的政策倡议, 并基于三省市登记注册的非政府组织的问卷调查数据库, 用定量方法分析了非政府组织的自主性如何影响其政策倡议的策略选择。分析结果显示, 自主性更高的非政府组织从事更多的政治倡议, 即直接和政府接触；但它们却更少地动员社会而进行社会倡议。这些发现增加了对中国的社会行为者的行为模式的理解。

Keywords

political institutionnon-governmental organizationorganizational autonomypolicy advocacyChina政治制度非政府组织组织自主性政策倡议中国
Type
Research Article
Information
The China Quarterly , Volume 251 , September 2022 , pp. 888 - 912
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of SOAS University of London

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