Doctoral Dissertation Research: The Emergence of Local Environmental Governance

SES-1334870)威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校加里·保罗·格林·伊菲·李环境保护已成为世界各国政府政策干预的核心领域。过去几十年的社会学研究阐明了公众对环境问题日益提高的认识导致环境政策制定的过程。环保运动的兴起以及许多其他形式的民主表达环境态度，塑造了各国政府为保护自然环境而投入资源的程度。现有的研究强调大众环保主义的力量和国家机构保护环境的能力之间的关系。这些现有的理论假定民主制度安排的存在。在缺乏民主的情况下，如何解释环境治理的出现？一个威权的政府结构为地方政府从事环境保护提供了什么动力？社会学理论提供了两个假设。首先，过去的研究发现，在威权背景下，地方政府往往对中央政权的命令反应强烈。一些城市似乎拥有强大的环境保护项目，这似乎是因为官僚机构与中央州的联系更加紧密。其次，学者们注意到了在没有投票权的情况下政府问责的独特机制。他们指出，非正式的公开表达渠道是公众和国家之间的桥梁。因此，城市致力于环境保护似乎也是合理的，因为当地通过非正式手段强烈表达了环保主义。为了回答这些问题，本研究收集了中国四个城市的档案数据。对这些城市地方政府干预环境保护的历史演变进行结构化比较，以确定导致地方环境治理的政治机制。研究结果将有助于解释对自上而下的政治结构和公众情绪敏感的当地环境状况。环境保护是国际发展中的一个中心问题。如果不让世界上人口最多的国家有效参与，全球抗击气候变化的努力就不会成功。目前在中国开展业务的数以百计的国际环境组织证明了中国在全球可持续发展事业中的重要性。这篇论文将为中国政府的工作及其承诺和行动环境保护目标的倾向提供重要的知识。共同倡议将为教育工作者、环境倡导团体和政策制定者提供环境保护政策最佳做法的摘要。实地调查期间获得的公开数据也将与感兴趣的各方共享，为中国和其他地方未来的环境保护研究做出贡献。

SES-1334870)Gary Paul Green Yifei Li University of Wisconsin-MadisonEnvironmental protection has become a core area of policy intervention for governments across the world. Sociological research in the past few decades articulated the process by which increasing public awareness of environmental issues led to environmental policy-making. The rise of environmental movements, as well as many other forms of democratic expression of environmental attitudes, shaped the extent to which governments commit resources to protect the natural environment. Existing research emphasizes the relationship between the power of popular environmentalism and the capacity of state agencies to protect the environment. These existing theories presume the existence of democratic institutional arrangements. In the absence of democracy, how is the emergence of environmental governance explained? What motivation does an authoritarian governmental structure offer for the local state to engage in environmental protection? Sociological theories provide two hypotheses. First, past research found that in the authoritarian context, the local state tends to be highly responsive to mandates from the central regime. It seems likely that some cities have strong environmental protection programs because of tighter bureaucratic connection to the central state. Second, scholars have noted the unique mechanism of government accountability in the absence of voting power. They point to informal channels of public expression as a bridge between the public and the state. It therefore also seems plausible that cities commit to environmental protection because of strong local expression of environmentalism through informal means. To answer these questions, this dissertation research will collect archival data from four Chinese cities. Structured comparisons between the historical evolutions of local state intervention in environmental protection in these cities to identify the political mechanisms that gave rise to local environmental governance. Research findings will contribute to an explanatory theory of the local environmental state that is sensitive to political structuring from above, as well as public sentiments from below.Broader ImpactsEnvironmental protection is a central problem in international development. Global efforts to combat climate change will not succeed without effectively engaging the most populated country in the world. The hundreds of international environmental organizations currently operating in the country testify to the importance of China in the global enterprise of sustainability. This dissertation will supply important knowledge about the working of the Chinese state and its propensity to commit to, and act in accordance with, environmental protection goals. The co-PI will provide summaries of best practices of environmental protection policies for educators, environmental advocacy groups, and policy-makers. Public data obtained during fieldwork will also be shared with interested parties to contribute to future studies into environmental protection in China and elsewhere.