scholarly journals New Trends in Sustainable Environmental Governance in Mainland China. The Zhejiang Case.

SAGE Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 215824402110231
Author(s):  
Gentian Qejvanaj1
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Middle Class ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Environmental Governance ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Political Legitimacy ◽  
Multinational Companies ◽  
Accountability Mechanism

The trade-off between environmental sustainability and economic growth has been the focus of an extensive debate in the developing world and in this debate China is no exception, as it moves away from a single-minded growth-only policy toward a more sustainable economic model. The reason for this new policy trend has to be found in civil society’s rising environmental awareness and the growing accountability by local governments and multinational companies. Interviews with civil society and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) mainly based in Zhejiang province, together with secondhand data from national online database show that a political feedback mechanism is possible also in a non-democratic country like China, and despite the Chinese political framework lacking an accountability mechanism, the civil society growing environmental concerns and multinational companies’ reputation abroad have indirectly forced policymakers to act toward tighter environmental regulation. In conclusion, this study shows that the Chinese middle class is not fully passive in its relationship with the local government, but it activates when its key interest is threatened, and as the Chinese middle class grows rich and educated and the economic growth slows down, a similar accountability mechanism could be replicated concerning issues where political legitimacy of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is not questioned like economic or social issues.

Introduction

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-35
Author(s):  
Eve Z. Bratman
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Environmental Protection ◽  
Environmental Governance ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Brazilian Amazon ◽  
Theoretical Context ◽  
Central Argument

The introductory chapter highlights the significance of studying sustainable development, introducing it as a concept that significantly marks approaches to environmental protection, economic growth, and social well-being in the present day. It highlights the main arguments of the entire book, which is first that sustainable development should be thought of as an ongoing set of processes that involve embroilments, rather than a point of balanced stasis where a particular goal has been reached. Centrally, the central argument of this book is that with few exceptions, sustainable development ultimately serves to reproduce and reinforce existing inequalities and yields highly uneven social and environmental results. The socio-natures of Amazonian realities show how injections of capital and state influence produce disproportionately consolidates the power of capital and the state, even as they are contested by members of civil society. The chapter situates the research presented in the book in theoretical context, building upon notions of socio-nature from the field of geography, and drawing upon environmental governance literatures in anthropology and political science to lay the foundations for interrogating sustainable development in the Brazilian Amazon.

Civil society organizations in China: Navigating the local government for more inclusive environmental governance

2020 ◽  
pp. 0920203X2090811 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiang Gao ◽  
Jessica Teets
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Citizen Participation ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Environmental Governance ◽  
Provincial Government ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
Governance System ◽  
Implementation Phase ◽  
The Government

This article examines how civil society organizations navigate local government to secure more inclusive environmental governance. Based on an in-depth case study of water governance in Zhejiang Province between 2012 and 2018, we find that Green Zhejiang, a civil society organization, exercised informal power to hold the local government accountable based on two strategies: mobilizing citizens to collect information on water pollution and strategically leveraging the authority of provincial government to find citizen-focused solutions. Most existing studies foreground one stage of the policy process – advocacy in the agenda-setting phase, policy entrepreneurship during the design phase, or monitoring during the implementation phase; however, we examine strategies of civil society organizations throughout this policy lifecycle. With this approach, we are able to analyse the strategic interactions between different levels of the government and civil society organizations and locate the positive outcomes and limits under the current governance system. Despite policy successes, Green Zhejiang still acts informally, which limits long-term effectiveness. However, incorporating citizens into public administration in a meaningful way requires sharing policymaking power formally, and thus far, local governments are only willing to share power in an ad hoc and informal way. More institutionalized citizen participation is necessary to develop innovative solutions to the severe environmental degradation in China.

scholarly journals SPATIAL POLICY DILEMMA: ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY AND ECONOMIC GROWTH

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 01 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haris Budiman ◽  
Eman Suparman ◽  
Anis Mashdurohatun
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Spatial Planning ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Sustainable Urban Development ◽  
Limited Resources ◽  
Land Conversion ◽  
Land Conflicts ◽  
Spatial Policy

The regulation of spatial planning aims to meet the demands of the built-area and preserve the environment for sustainable urban development. Yet, the implementation of spatial planning for welfare and environmental sustainability faces various problems such as conflicts between sectors and regions. Similarly, the efforts to improve welfare through economic growth lead to land conversion that has an impact on environmental demage and land conflicts. The purpose of this study is to analyzethe factors inhibiting local governments in implementing the spatial planning. This research belongs to qualitative research with Socio Legal approach. The informants and respondents were chosen by applying purposive sampling technique, while the data validation used triangulation. The results showed that local governments have difficulties in implementing environmental-based spatial planning as well as increasing economic growth, especially for regions with small local revenues. Limited resources, inconsistenct policy, and weak regulation arrangements have become inhibiting factors in meeting the demands of environmental-based spatial planning and increasing economic growth. Therefore, commitment from local government is needed to solve the problem by increasing the capacity of government apparatus, enforcing the rules, and reconstructing the fair and prosperous spatial policy.

Anti-crisis measures or structural reforms: Russia’s economic policy in 2015

2016 ◽  
pp. 5-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Mau
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Economic Policy ◽  
Structural Transformation ◽  
Growth Model ◽  
Emerging Economies ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Import Substitution ◽  
Structural Reforms ◽  
Energy Prices ◽  
New Models

The paper deals with 2015 trends and challenges for social and economic policy in the nearest future. The analysis of global crisis includes: uneven developments in the leading advanced and emerging economies; new models of economic growth which look differently in different countries; prospects of globalization and challenges of ‘regional globalization’; currency configurations of the future; energy prices dynamics and its influence on political and economic prospects of particular states. Current challenges are discussed in the context of previous 30 years. Among the main topics on Russia, there are approaches to a new growth model, structural transformation (including import substitution issues), economic dynamics, budget and monetary outlines, social issues. The priorities of economic policy are also considered.

ANALISIS SUB SEKTOR UNGGULAN YANG BERDAYA SAING PADA SEKTOR PERTANIAN DI KABUPATEN LANGKAT

TABULARASA ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Rif’an Harahap
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Human Resources ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Regional Economic Growth ◽  
Food Crops ◽  
Analysis Method ◽  
Welfare Society ◽  
Decentralized Governance

System changes from centralized to decentralized governance has provided an opportunity for local governments to regulate and manage Natural Resources (NR) and Human Resources (HR) in the region to create a welfare society can be characterized by the growth of regional economic growth. The research was conducted to determine the contribution and sub-sectors growth in the agricultural sector and a base and competitive sub-sectors so that it can be seen the leading subsectors of agriculture. The analysis method used is descriptive analysis will illustrate how the rate of growth and the contribution of sub-sectors in the agricultural sector. Location Quetiont (LQ) Analysis was used to determine the base and non-base sub-sector. While the analysis of Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) is used to see the sub-sector competitiveness. The combination of LQ and RCA analysis can then be used to determine the leading sub-sector. From the analysis it is known that sub-sector of the agricultural sector is a base sub-sector which has the potential to become the leading sub-sector. Meanwhile, from the RCA analysis is known that the base of the agricultural sector has a highly competitive sub-sectors are food crops, tree crops, livestock and forestry.

ANALISIS SUB SEKTOR UNGGULAN YANG BERDAYA SAING PADA SEKTOR PERTANIAN DI KABUPATEN LANGKAT

TABULARASA ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Rif’an Harahap
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Human Resources ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Regional Economic Growth ◽  
Food Crops ◽  
Analysis Method ◽  
Welfare Society ◽  
Decentralized Governance

System changes from centralized to decentralized governance has provided an opportunity for local governments to regulate and manage Natural Resources (NR) and Human Resources (HR) in the region to create a welfare society can be characterized by the growth of regional economic growth. The research was conducted to determine the contribution and sub-sectors growth in the agricultural sector and a base and competitive sub-sectors so that it can be seen the leading subsectors of agriculture. The analysis method used is descriptive analysis will illustrate how the rate of growth and the contribution of sub-sectors in the agricultural sector. Location Quetiont (LQ) Analysis was used to determine the base and non-base sub-sector. While the analysis of Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) is used to see the sub-sector competitiveness. The combination of LQ and RCA analysis can then be used to determine the leading sub-sector. From the analysis it is known that sub-sector of the agricultural sector is a base sub-sector which has the potential to become the leading sub-sector. Meanwhile, from the RCA analysis is known that the base of the agricultural sector has a highly competitive sub-sectors are food crops, tree crops, livestock and forestry.

Civil Society in UN Peacebuilding Discourse

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura J. Shepherd
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Local Knowledge ◽  
Political Legitimacy ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
Conceptual Domain ◽  
Close Analysis ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
Over Time ◽  
The Way

Chapter 5 outlines the ways in which civil society is largely associated with “women” and the “local,” as a spatial and conceptual domain, and how this has implications for how we understand political legitimacy and authority. The author argues that close analysis reveals a shift in the way in which the United Nations as a political entity conceives of civil society over time, from early engagement with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to the more contemporary articulation of civil society as consultant or even implementing partner. Contemporary UN peacebuilding discourse, however, constitutes civil society as a legitimating actor for UN peacebuilding practices, as civil society organizations are the bearers/owners of certain forms of (local) knowledge.

What’s Next for a National Infrastructure Policy: An Encore or a Requiem?

2021 ◽  
pp. 1087724X2110146
Author(s):  
Richard G. Little
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Public Policy ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Infrastructure Systems ◽  
Infrastructure Policy ◽  
Policy Objectives ◽  
The Many ◽  
National Infrastructure ◽  
Roll Out

In an essay almost 30 years ago, Professor Dick Netzer of NYU asked the question “Do We Really Need a National Infrastructure Policy?” and came to the conclusion that we did not. As the Biden Administration prepares to roll out a multi-trillion dollar infrastructure package, the nation is faced with numerous questions regarding the infrastructure systems necessary to support continued economic growth and environmental sustainability. The purpose of this essay is to look to recent history for guidance for how to proceed by revisiting the underlying premises of the Netzer essay and reconsider whether a National Infrastructure Policy is needed. Because linking infrastructure to broader public policy objectives could both unite the nation and position it to address the many challenges that the 21st century will present, I believe the idea of a National Infrastructure Policy definitely deserves a second look.

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