New Opportunities, Same Constraints: Environmental Protection and China's New Development Path

Since coming to power in 2002, China's ‘fourth generation’ leadership has attempted to steer the country on to a new development path that emphasises environmental protection and resource conservation. This article argues that this has opened up a window of opportunity for China's State En...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inPolitics (Manchester, England) Vol. 28; no. 2; pp. 93 - 102
Main Author Johnson, Thomas R.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.05.2008
SAGE Publications
Subjects
Authoritarian regimes
China
Economic Development
Environmental Policy
Environmental Protection
Implementation
Leadership
Management
Peoples Republic of China
Policy implementation
Resource conservation
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Summary:Since coming to power in 2002, China's ‘fourth generation’ leadership has attempted to steer the country on to a new development path that emphasises environmental protection and resource conservation. This article argues that this has opened up a window of opportunity for China's State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA), long perceived as a weak body, to expand its influence and improve implementation of environmental policies. This article examines two recent SEPA initiatives, green GDP and so-called ‘environmental storms’, to see to what extent SEPA has been able to achieve these outcomes. It concludes that, although the profile of environmental issues has risen as a result of these two initiatives, they also highlight the difficulties inherent in enforcing better environmental standards in an authoritarian political system.
Bibliography:ark:/67375/WNG-JJSGXJ57-W
ArticleID:PONL316
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content type line 23
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ISSN:0263-3957
1467-9256
DOI:10.1111/j.1467-9256.2008.00316.x