scholarly journals The Rise of the Chinese Security State

2015 ◽  
Vol 222 ◽  
pp. 339-359 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuhua Wang ◽  
Carl Minzner
Keyword(s):  
Local Governance ◽  
Public Security ◽  
Policy Response ◽  
Political Systems ◽  
New Governance ◽  
Evaluation Standards ◽  
Social Unrest ◽  
The Past ◽  
Domestic Security ◽  
Governance Models

AbstractOver the past two decades, the Chinese domestic security apparatus has expanded dramatically. “Stability maintenance” operations have become a top priority for local Chinese authorities. We argue that this trend goes back to the early 1990s, when central Party authorities adopted new governance models that differed dramatically from those of the 1980s. They increased the bureaucratic rank of public security chiefs within the Party apparatus, expanded the reach of the Party political-legal apparatus into a broader range of governance issues, and altered cadre evaluation standards to increase the sensitivity of local authorities to social unrest. We show that the origin of these changes lies in a policy response to the developments of 1989–1991, namely the Tiananmen democracy movement and the collapse of communist political systems in Eastern Europe. Over the past twenty years, these practices have developed into an extensive stability maintenance apparatus, whereby local governance is increasingly oriented around the need to respond to social unrest, whether through concession or repression. Chinese authorities now appear to be rethinking these developments, but the direction of reform remains unclear.

The Political Economy of Local Governance in Yemen

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 45-69
Author(s):  
Benoit Challand ◽  
Joshua Rogers
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Political Culture ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Local Development ◽  
The Political ◽  
The Past ◽  
Strong State ◽  
Self Help ◽  
Local Initiatives ◽  
Self Rule

This paper provides an historical exploration of local governance in Yemen across the past sixty years. It highlights the presence of a strong tradition of local self-rule, self-help, and participation “from below” as well as the presence of a rival, official, political culture upheld by central elites that celebrates centralization and the strong state. Shifts in the predominance of one or the other tendency have coincided with shifts in the political economy of the Yemeni state(s). When it favored the local, central rulers were compelled to give space to local initiatives and Yemen experienced moments of political participation and local development.

scholarly journals Trajectories of the Earth System in the Anthropocene

2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (33) ◽  
pp. 8252-8259 ◽  
Author(s):  
Will Steffen ◽  
Johan Rockström ◽  
Katherine Richardson ◽  
Timothy M. Lenton ◽  
Carl Folke ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Global Economy ◽  
Human Action ◽  
Behavioral Changes ◽  
Earth System ◽  
New Governance ◽  
Sea Levels ◽  
Average Temperature ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Potential Threshold

We explore the risk that self-reinforcing feedbacks could push the Earth System toward a planetary threshold that, if crossed, could prevent stabilization of the climate at intermediate temperature rises and cause continued warming on a “Hothouse Earth” pathway even as human emissions are reduced. Crossing the threshold would lead to a much higher global average temperature than any interglacial in the past 1.2 million years and to sea levels significantly higher than at any time in the Holocene. We examine the evidence that such a threshold might exist and where it might be. If the threshold is crossed, the resulting trajectory would likely cause serious disruptions to ecosystems, society, and economies. Collective human action is required to steer the Earth System away from a potential threshold and stabilize it in a habitable interglacial-like state. Such action entails stewardship of the entire Earth System—biosphere, climate, and societies—and could include decarbonization of the global economy, enhancement of biosphere carbon sinks, behavioral changes, technological innovations, new governance arrangements, and transformed social values.

Modernizing China for the intellectuals

1988 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 182-183
Author(s):  
Xian Hong Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Political Systems ◽  
The Past

Gigantic changes have been occurring in China over the past few decades. After more than 30 years of centralizing and nationalizing lands, enterprises, shops and all production materials, China has recognized some shortcomings in its practice and has been aware that it will be impossible to achieve the goal of modernization without some basic orientated reforms both in its economic and political systems.

scholarly journals Victimization, perception of insecurity, and changes in daily routines in Mexico

2016 ◽  
Vol 50 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
María Elena Ávila ◽  
Belén Martínez-Ferrer ◽  
Alejandro Vera ◽  
Alejandro Bahena ◽  
Gonzalo Musitu
Keyword(s):  
Public Security ◽  
Male Victims ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Protective Measures ◽  
Protection Measures ◽  
Female Victims ◽  
Daily Routines ◽  
The Past ◽  
Everyday Activities ◽  
High Crime

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE To analyze the relationships between victimization, perception of insecurity, and changes in routines. METHODS The 8,170 subjects of both sexes (49.9% women and 50.1% men) aged between 12 and 60 years, selected from a proportional stratified sampling, participated in this study. The measuring instrument was an adaptation of the National Survey on Victimization and Perception of Public Security. Chi-square tests were performed. RESULTS The results show significant differences on victimization and sex regarding perception of insecurity, restrictions on everyday activities, and protection measures. 13.1% of those interviewed claimed to have been victims of a crime in the past 12 months. 52.7% of women considered their municipality as unsafe or very unsafe. In the case of men, this percentage was 58.2%. Female victims reported significant restrictions in everyday activities when compared to non-victims. In relation to men, the percentage of victims with a high restriction of activities was higher in male victims than non-victims. In the group of victimized women, the segment of women who opted for increased measures of protection against crime was larger than expected, while those of non-victims who took less protective measures was lower than expected. These same results were observed in the group of men. CONCLUSIONS The experience of victimization implies a greater perception of insecurity. However, the climate of insecurity is widespread in a large number of citizens. Gender differences in a high-crime environment show the importance of investigating in depth the roles of both genders in the perception of insecurity and changes in routines.

Platform social enterprises as a new model for co-production

2020 ◽  
pp. 61-86
Author(s):  
Maurizio Busacca ◽  
Flaviano Zandonai
Keyword(s):  
Social Enterprise ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Sharing Economy ◽  
Social Enterprises ◽  
New Governance ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
Development Trajectory ◽  
Relational Systems ◽  
Governance Models ◽  
Use Of Knowledge

The paper analyses the mechanisms of organisational integration in two social enterprises characterised by a strong orientation towards the creation and management of networks with the aim of gaining useful learning in the framework of the emerging debate on production and governance models that characterise platform organisations, in particular in the digital context. In order to do this, it deepens the dimensions of leadership, organisational knowledge and production in two Italian cases: Le Case del Quartiere, a network of social infrastructures in Turin, and TreCuori, a company and territorial welfare agency in Veneto. The two cases are analysed according to the literature of organisational studies which, since the 1980s, has deepened the issue of the progressive narrowing of organisational boundaries and the increase in interdependence between units and organisations variously located with respect to those boundaries. The main evidence that emerged from the case studies are two. The first, in contrast with the rhetoric of disintermediation associated with the sharing economy, identifies the key role of intermediaries who position themselves as third parties with respect to the demand and supply of goods and services in order to facilitate their meeting and, at the same time, foster the mechanisms of entrepreneurial use of knowledge and relationships. The second, with significant theoretical implications, identifies the "platform social enterprise" as an organisational model that introduces strong traits of cooperation in the relational systems that characterise mainstream platform-enterprises. The findings of the investigation offer an original contribution to the convergence between social innovation, collaborative economics and new governance models studies, with a shift from "platform capitalism" to "platform cooperativism" by organizations that use place-based social innovation models and give importance not only to relational and political-cultural factors, but also to co-production, co-working, collaboration and networking. Observed from this perspective, the platform social enterprise becomes a model to be more considered in order to propose a more cooperative, sustainable and democratic development trajectory of platforms.

Unfolding tensions within post-settlement governance and tribal economies in Aotearoa New Zealand

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 296-318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason Paul Mika ◽  
Graham Hingangaroa Smith ◽  
Annemarie Gillies ◽  
Fiona Wiremu
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Wealth Distribution ◽  
Transformative Change ◽  
New Governance ◽  
Wealth Creation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Global Citizens ◽  
Language And Culture ◽  
Aotearoa New Zealand ◽  
Governance Models

Purpose This paper aims to examine indigenous governance and economies of iwi Maori (Maori tribes) in Aotearoa New Zealand. Research into persisting inequities amongst iwi that have settled treaty claims and the potential for intervention through new governance models and indigenous entrepreneurship contextualise the paper. Design/methodology/approach Kaupapa Maori (Maori philosophy) is used as an indigenous methodology to facilitate and empower transformative change, underpinned by Maori knowledge, language and culture. A multi-level approach is used to collect data from international, national and local tribal organisations. Validity is established through stakeholder engagement. Findings A central challenge in the post-treaty settlement context is exponentialising tribal capabilities because of the multiple purposes ascribed to post-settled iwi. Four themes, characterised as “unfolding tensions”, offer a critique and basis for solving tribal development challenges: how do tribes create culturally grounded global citizens; how do tribes rebalance wealth creation and wealth distribution; how do tribes recalibrate tribal institutions; and how do tribes embed entrepreneurship and innovation within their economies? Research limitations/implications As data collection is still underway, the paper is conceptual. Practical implications Five strategies to address unfolding tensions are identified for tribes to consider. Social implications Tribal governors and tribal members are implicated in the analysis, as well as the architects of post-treaty settlement governance models. Originality/value The paper contributes to theorising about tribal governance, economies and entrepreneurship.

Theorizing socio-environmental reproduction in China’s countryside and beyond

2020 ◽  
pp. 251484862097012
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Lord
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Social Reproduction ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Political Stability ◽  
Uneven Development ◽  
Political Systems ◽  
The Past ◽  
Environmental Objectives ◽  
Rural Environments ◽  
Environmental Work

Over the past four decades, pollution and other forms of environmental degradation have radically transformed China’s landscape. So have the ambitious greening policies implemented to tackle these problems. During the same period, an enormous gap in wealth and amenities has arisen between the modernizing cities and rural areas, the latter playing an important, and often ignored, role in China’s environmental project. This paper identifies two paradoxical processes transforming rural environments: the mobilization of rural efforts to green the nation and the ruralization of pollution. While seemingly contradictory, both processes illustrate how the rural is expendable and malleable to state interests. This article proposes the concept of socio-environmental reproduction to theorize the environmental paradox in which many rural communities find themselves in contemporary China, as their environmental work and sacrifices sustain economic and political systems. This concept builds on the work on social reproduction by feminist scholars, particularly those who have sought to integrate the environment into their analyses. This paper proposes to expand the concept to include all the environmental work and sacrifices that certain people are asked to make to fuel the economic system, preserve political stability, and protect privileged spaces from pollution. As a whole, this article shows how China’s rural–urban divide is constitutive of the country’s environmental project and how national greening initiatives enable uneven development. Furthermore, this case foreshadows what will likely occur elsewhere as countries seek to green themselves. As the ecological era unfolds in China and elsewhere, it exposes how deep social divides are mobilized to fulfill environmental objectives. This paper theorizes the environmental work and sacrifices that risk falling on the shoulders of the most vulnerable.

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