Reza Hasmath

Contents:

1. Introduction

2. Understanding Incentives for Innovation: Using an Evolutionary Framework

3. Innovation Under Recentralization

4. Implications for Innovation

Abstract:

Despite playing a key contributing role in China’s economic reforms and the Party’s regime durability, there has been a noted reduction in local policy experimentation. Using semi-structured interviews with policymakers in Beijing, Zhejiang and Shenzhen, we find that although recentralization efforts at the central-level are impacting local officials, a great deal of variation in policy experimentation outcomes still exists. Thus, the puzzle motivating this study is how do local officials react to these institutional changes to decide whether or not to engage in local policy innovation? Our study offers three potential explanations for why local officials vary in their willingness to continue policy experimentation: (1) the ineffectiveness of the vertical reward and punishment systems operated by the Party-state; (2) differing base preferences of local officials; and, (3) the presence of a cohort effect.  These factors “filter” institutional changes to result in variation at the local level. As such, we find strong support for an evolutionary process predicated on individual preferences interacting with institutional incentives such as the evaluation system and the networked-structure of cadre knowledge. Although some officials are still conducting policy experimentation, the overall reduction in innovation strongly suggests that potential solutions to governance problems remain trapped at the local level, and that the central government might lose this “adaptable” governance mechanism that has contributed to its past economic and political successes.

Citation:

Teets, J., Hasmath, R. and Lewis, O. (2017) “The Incentive to Innovate? The Behavior of Policymakers in China”, Journal of Chinese Political Science 22(4): 505-517.

Contents:

1. Introduction

2. Theoretical Framework

3. Methodology

4. Findings and Discussion

5. Implications and Conclusion

Abstract:

Why do local officials in an authoritarian bureaucracy experiment with policy, even when directed not to do so by central-level officials? This study suggests that policy experimentation in this institutional environment can best be understood as an interaction between the structure in which local officials are embedded, and individual-level personality attributes. Leveraging a new data set from a series of original surveys with local policymakers in mainland China, conducted between 2016 and 2018, we discern three base-line personality types: authoritarian, consultative and entrepreneurial. We thereafter examine the individual-level characteristics of local officials who will innovate irrespective of a centralization of bureaucratic power and interests, as currently experienced under Chinese President Xi Jinping. We find that local policymakers engage in policy innovation when they are more focused on resolving governance problems, and that increased risk reduces but does not eliminate their willingness to innovate. Based on these findings, we contend that future studies of policy innovation should use an evolutionary framework to examine the interaction between preferences and selection pressures.

Citation:

Hasmath, R., Teets, J. and Lewis, O. (2019) “The Innovative Personality? Policymaking and Experimentation in an Authoritarian Bureaucracy”, Public Administration and Development 39(3): 154-162.

Contents:

1. Introduction

2. Defining Labor Standards

3. Is There a ‘Race to the Bottom’?

4. The Impact of NGOs

5. Trade Agreements and the South

6. The China Case

7. Conclusion

Abstract:

This paper will examine the linkages between global big businesses, NGOs and labour standards in the contemporary context of developing nations.  Specifically, it will pay close attention to multinational corporations’ practices in terms of wages, foreign direct investment and supply-chain formations, and its overall effects on labour standards.  Reflections on trade agreements will also be offered in respect to how they affect labour standards.  Coiled in this background, the role of NGOs to promote and improve labour standards in developing nations will be critically examined.

Citation:

Hasmath, R. and Hsu, J. (2007) “Big Business, NGOs and Labor Standards in Developing Nations: A Critical Reflection”, Asian Journal of Social Policy 3(1): 1-15.

Contents:

1. Introduction

2. Political Background Conditions

3. The Many Definitions of Social Development

4. Tibetan Social Development

5. Future Considerations

6. Conclusion

Abstract:

This paper will historically examine social development outcomes in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) in respect to poverty eradication, education and employment, health care and social integration.  Moreover, it will offer tangible advice for improving future social development work in TAR.  The main theoretical approach is a literature and policy review of social development in TAR from 1951 to present.  Seemingly Tibet’s social development strategy has been achieved through a strong top-down approach.  However, the road ahead for TAR once basic needs are satisfactorily met, is a move towards a participatory approach, whereby Tibetans can directly contribute and have a stake in their own futures.  This paper will be of interest to those who want a definitive account of recent historical social development strategies and outcomes in TAR; and subsequently, the future possibilities and challenges for development in the region.

Citation:

Hasmath, R. and Hsu, J. (2007) “Social Development in the Tibet Autonomous Region: A Contemporary and Historical Analysis”, International Journal of Development Issues 6(2): 125-141.

Contents:

1. Introduction

2. NGOs’ Perceptions of Constituents

3. The Role of the General Public

4. Mechanisms Employed to Ensure Good Governance

5. Conclusion

Abstract:

Drawing on interviews conducted among leading local and international NGOs operating in China, this article considers how NGOs understand and implement good governance and accountability principles and practices.  It also examines how Chinese constituents and the general public perceive local and international NGOs. The discussion provides a basis on which to assess ways of improving accountability practices for NGOs operating in China.  

Citation:

Hasmath, R. and Hsu, J. (2008) “NGOs in China: Issues of Good Governance and Accountability”, Asia Pacific Journal of Public Administration 30(1): 1-11.

Available in Chinese:

对中国公民社会组织良好治理的研究

Contents:

1. Introduction 

2. Theoretical Framework 

3. Methodology 

4. Findings and Discussion 

5. Conclusion

Abstract:

Received wisdom views political humor, viz. egao, in the Chinese cyber public sphere as a form of resistance. This study creates and tests a framework that best conceptualizes how different functions of egao are connected with one another: to analyze the patterns of ties that link the different facets of the phenomenon together. The study contends that by framing egao within network society theory, we can appreciate its fluidity and better understand its online ubiquity. Analysis of survey data suggests that it is not the content solely, but the networked practice of egao that dictates its true function. Namely, the networked practices of netizens (internet citizens) have a formative relationship with their perceptions of, and interactions with, egao. The connectivity netizens feel from engaging in the practice often supersedes its content, in terms of value to cyber culture.

Citation:

Yates, M. and Hasmath, R. (2017) “When a Joke is More than a Joke: Humor as  Form of Networked Practice in the Chinese Cyber Public Sphere”, Journal of Chinese Sociology 4:17.

Contents:

1.  Introduction

2.  Explaining the Motivations for Policy Experimentation

3.  Motivations for Policy Experimentation under Xi Jinping

4.  Conclusion

Abstract:

Most scholars credit policy experimentation with China’s successful economic reforms and continued authoritarian resilience. This article contributes to this policy experimentation literature by providing a systematic overview of the motivations incentivizing Chinese policy entrepreneurs to experiment at local levels. This article traces the evolution of policy experimentation in China through the prism of understanding the varying motivations for experimentation, such as individual career incentives, improving good governance, and symbolic and factional politics. Despite the benefits of policy experimentation, there has been a notable reduction in experimentation in the Xi Jinping era due to the recentralization of political power through “top-level design” and an ongoing anti-corruption campaign. This has effectively created disincentives to innovate at the local level. Nevertheless, we do find remaining pockets of policy experimentation that we argue are due to ineffective institutional incentives, the influence of peer groups, and variations in the individual personalities of policymakers. However, it is unclear if the remaining experimentation is robust enough to assist in further economic reforms or adaptive governance. [Winner of the Journal of Asian Public Policy 2020/2021 Best Paper Prize]

Citation:

Teets, J. and Hasmath, R. (2020) “The Evolution of Policy Experimentation in China”, Journal of Asian Public Policy 13(1): 49-59.

Contents:

1. Introduction

2. Theoretical Framework

3. The Contemporary Behaviour of Chinese Social Organizations

4. Discussion

5. Conclusion

Abstract:

The concept of global civil society arose out of a language, culture and definition influenced by mainstream Western political philosophy and discourse, and the behaviour of Western NGOs that proliferated in the latter part of the 20th century. The recent rise of Chinese social organizations internationally – who were born, developed and prospered in a domestic authoritarian institutional environment with varying values and norms than their Western counterparts – suggests a rethink of how global civil society is conceived. Namely, as Chinese social organizations internationalize, they ultimately export to host nations their best/worst practices, modes of operation, organizational behaviour, and their values and norms. This article looks at the experiences of Chinese social organizations domestically and abroad, and discerns how their actions and behaviour potentially confirms, modifies and/or rejects the contemporary conceptual understanding of global civil society.

Citation:

Hasmath, R. and Hsu, J. (2021) “Rethinking Global Civil Society in an Era of a Rising China”, The China Review 21(3): 221-246.

Available in Chinese, French, German, Japanese and Russian:

论述中国崛起时代如何重新思考全球公民社会

Repenser la Société Civile Mondiale à l'Ère de la Montée en Puissance de la Chine

Die Globale Zivilgesellschaft in einer Ära des aufstrebenden Chinas neu denken

台頭する中国の時代におけるグローバル市民社会の再考

Переосмысление глобального гражданского общества в эпоху восходящего Китая

Contents:

1. Introduction

2. Framework

3. Methodology and Sample

4. Results

5. Discussion

6. Conclusion

Abstract:

This article suggests that Chinese NGO do not have the conviction that they are part of an epistemic community in mainland China. Interviews conducted in four cities, Chongqing, Kunming, Nanjing and Shanghai, suggests that this can be attributed to a lack of set standards and professionalization governing their sector of operation. Further, the study finds that Chinese NGOs do not see their primary role is to produce knowledge within their organizational development life cycle. This may indicate a varying path towards the maturation of the civil society sector in China, whereby Chinese NGOs do not conform to the organizational development process as outlined in extant NGO literature.

Citation:

Hsu, J. and Hasmath, R. (2017) “A Maturing Civil Society in China? The Role of Knowledge and Professionalization in the Development of NGOs”, China Information 31(1): 22-42.

Available in Chinese and German:

成熟中的中国民间团体？知识和专业性在NGO发展中的角色

Auf dem Weg zu einer mündigen Zivilgesellschaft in China? Die Rolle von Wissen und Professionalisierung in der Entwicklung von NGOs

Contents:

1. Introduction

2. Social Organizations and Organizational Fields

3. National Level Constraints: Political Authoritarianism and Cultural Unfamiliarity

4. Local Constraints

5. Methodology and Sample

6. Results: Regional Variations in Resource Strategies

7. Discussion: Resource Strategies and Citizenship

8. Conclusion

Abstract:

This study argues that different cities in China have different resource environments available for NGOs. Organizations react to these resource environments by constructing appropriate resource strategies, which in turn shape the characteristics and structures of the NGOs of that city. It further examines how these characteristics and structures influence the construction and performance of citizenship in an authoritarian environment. Specifically, some types of NGOs encourage Chinese citizens to be passive, while others offer a model for people to actively engage with social issues. This is aptly demonstrated in an analysis of NGOs operating across four cities – Beijing, Shanghai, Kunming, and Nanjing – which reveals three different types of resource environments and behavioural models for NGOs. We subsequently discuss the implications of each model for citizen engagement.

Citation:

Hsu, J., Hsu, C. and Hasmath, R. (2017) “NGO Strategies in an Authoritarian Context, and their Implications for Citizenship: The Case of the People’s Republic of China”, Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations 28(3): 1157-1179.

Available in Chinese and German:

专制主义环境下的NGO 策略，及对公民身份的影响：中国案例

NGO-Strategien in einem autoritären Kontext und ihre Auswirkungen auf die Staatsbürgerschaft: Der Fall der Volksrepublik China