China’s Evolving Policy Processes under the Comparative Lenses

Book excerpt: This book takes a broad approach to studying China’s policy processes. It aims to shed new light on the characteristics of China’s political systems and to adapt theoretical frameworks of policy processes developed in Western democracies to China. In 2021, Xi Jinping introduced the concept of “whole-process people’s democracy”. This new discourse calls for a deeper understanding of both traditional and new mechanisms and institutions functioning in China’s policy processes. Bringing together scholars with extensive fieldwork experience in mainland China and Taiwan, this edited volume investigates governance mechanisms and institutions of policy processes in China from different perspectives, such as mass line, Tiao–Kuai coordination, and People’s Congress. The book focuses not only on traditional topics such as agenda setting and policy change, but also on political-administrative relations, policy mix design, and delivering service contracts in communities. A comparative analysis of three social enterprises in Taiwan is provided as a case study of non-governmental actors’ (lack of) influence on policies in a context that is different from mainland China. This book will appeal to scholars, students, and practitioners interested in policy processes in mainland China and Taiwan and in comparative theories about policy processes around the world.