Performative Governance

ABSTRACTThe state often struggles to meet citizens’ demands but confronts strong public pressure to do so. What does the state do when public expectations exceed its actual governing capacity? This article shows that the state can respond by engaging in performative governance—the theatrical deployment of language, symbols, and gestures to foster an impression of good governance among citizens. Performative governance should be distinguished from other types of state behavior, such as inertia, paternalism, and the substantive satisfaction of citizens’ demands. The author illustrates this concept in the realm of environmental governance in China. Given the severity of China’s environmental pollution, the resulting public outcry, and the logistical and political challenges involved in solving the problem, how can the state redeem itself? Ethnographic evidence from participant observation at a municipal environmental protection bureau reveals that when bureaucrats are confronted with the dual burdens of low state capacity and high public scrutiny, they engage in performative governance to assuage citizens’ complaints. This study draws attention to the double meaning of “performance” in political contexts, and the essential distinction between the substantive and the theatrical.

The Regression Models of PM2.5 and Other Air Pollutants in Wuhan

In this study PM2.5 and other five air pollutants (i.e. SO2, NO2, PM10, CO, and O3) have been analyzed by using statistical methods. Two different regression models were established quantitatively in this paper to find out the factors and causes of PM2.5 and were compared by using the partial data from January 1 to August 26, 2013, which is obtained from Wuhan Environmental Protection Bureau. The results indicate that the correlation coefficients of PM2.5 and other four air pollutants CO, SO2, NO2, and PM10 are all over 0.7, which shows significant linear correlations, and regression models were proved illustrious and accurate by testing and contrast.

Remediation of Legacy Arsenic Mining Areas in Yunnan Province, China

Background. Three villages in Yunnan Province were identified to have abandoned arsenic mines severely contaminating the local water supplies. Other villages in the Province had similar problems causing the Yunnan Environmental Protection Bureau (YEPB) to seek assistance in developing a remedial strategy. Objectives. Identify the immediate hazards, develop practical remedial approaches, with focus on human health impacts associated with contaminated drinking water. Develop a blueprint for dealing with other isolated mine pollution problems in the mountains of Yunnan. Materials & Methods. A technical team from Blacksmith Institute, TerraGraphics Environmental Engineering and Yunnan Environmental Protection Bureau (YEPB) visited the sites and conducted environmental sampling. TerraGraphics prepared a technical review of each site, a discussion of human health risks and objectives for remedial actions, using United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) guidance for waste site evaluations. From the recommended interventions for each site, YEPB selected a site for construction remediation. Results. Samples of wastes, soils and water indicated high metals contamination at all three sites. The closed arsenic refinery in Wenshan County was selected for a demonstration cleanup project. Subsequent analyses showed significant improvements in metals levels and achievement of remedial objectives. The site is recognized as a model for other mining sites in Yunnan. Conclusions. The success of the demonstration project was recognized and has provided direction and momentum for a wider effort by the Province to address mining pollution and water contamination challenges. It demonstrates the success of using known techniques for environmental remediation in the US, with local partners in China responding to their communities' health and environmental problems.

Enforcement Styles, Organizational Commitment, and Enforcement Effectiveness: An Empirical Study of Local Environmental Protection Officials in Urban China

The authors investigated the relationship between enforcement styles and perceptions of enforcement effectiveness in China by surveying three groups of environmental protection bureau officials from the major cities of Guangzhou, Chengdu, and Dalian. In general, it was found that organizational commitment partially mediates the relationship between the enforcement style of prioritization and perceptions of effectiveness. In this case, mediation and direct effects work together such that prioritization has by far the greatest positive total effect. In contrast, a coercive enforcement style is more completely mediated by organizational commitment, but this relationship is negative (that is, a coercive style appears to reduce organizational commitment, leading to lower perceptions of enforcement effectiveness). Although some differences are noted among the three samples, the overall pattern suggests that other enforcement styles (formalism, education, and external influence) appear to be much less influential in shaping perceptions of enforcement effectiveness.