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This article analyses the impacts of an international cooperation project in the field of “eco‐city” development in China, using a policy transfer perspective. It explores the relationship between policy transfers and paradigm shifts and... more
This article analyses the impacts of an international cooperation project in the field of “eco‐city” development in China, using a policy transfer perspective. It explores the relationship between policy transfers and paradigm shifts and discussing the thesis of a “Chinese art” of policy transfers, according to which Chinese policymakers operate a form of cherry‐picking that prefers technical recommendations over policy or procedural recommendations and is dictated by “national self‐interest.” Based on a longitudinal study of the transfer of a renewal paradigm to a Chinese city, Yangzhou, the study shows that the transfer resulted in significant policy change, going beyond technical aspects. Therefore, the thesis of “Chinese art” is not confirmed. However, a full‐fledged paradigm shift was not observable as elements of the old paradigm are still present. Policy transfers can thus result in paradigm shifts, but their institutionalization is likely to be slow and gradual.
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East Asian policy transfer and diffusion is conceived as following a “flying geese” model but transformations in the region challenged this hierarchical leader‐follower relationship between countries. Based on the articles in this Special... more
East Asian policy transfer and diffusion is conceived as following a “flying geese” model but transformations in the region challenged this hierarchical leader‐follower relationship between countries. Based on the articles in this Special Issue, this article seeks to nuance the flying geese dynamics of policy transfer. New types of transfer agents afford a different view of agency in policy transfer. Modes of governance and administrative traditions increasingly shape transfer dynamics and its tempo. Historical relations between countries increasingly affect the perception of legitimacy and appropriateness of policies to be borrowed. Most cases point to the transfer of specialized and successful models or recipes within national and subnational entities. There is a notable variety of temporalities in transfer, often intermediated by experimentation and an active but often limited “search” for solutions. We conclude by presenting an agenda for future research about policy transfer an...
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MERCURY is financially supported by the EU’s 7th Framework Programme
In this chapter, the author introduces the case of Yangzhou, very fruitful to explore the micro-dynamics of policy transfer in a case located in China – a country so far not so much explored by this literature. The author introduces the... more
In this chapter, the author introduces the case of Yangzhou, very fruitful to explore the micro-dynamics of policy transfer in a case located in China – a country so far not so much explored by this literature. The author introduces the main research questions and anchoring of the research project – understand whether knowledge produced in one specific setting can find a valid application in another, very different one, and identify the characteristics of policy learning and policy translation by using a policy transfer perspective.
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On 5 September 2005, during the 8 EU-China Summit held in Beijing, the European Union and China signed an agreement to establish a bilateral Partnership on Climate Change. The two parties pledged to strengthen the dialogue on climate... more
On 5 September 2005, during the 8 EU-China Summit held in Beijing, the European Union and China signed an agreement to establish a bilateral Partnership on Climate Change. The two parties pledged to strengthen the dialogue on climate change policies, exchange views on key issues in climate change negotiations and develop concrete action to tackle climate change by carrying out specific cooperative projects. By presenting an analysis of the outcomes of this bilateral initiative from the EU and China, this paper tries to assess if the EU-China partnership on climate change can be considered, as intended, an important contribution to a multilateral solution to climate change, or if this bilateral relationship only functions at a rhetorical level without producing concrete results. Giulia C. Romano Email: giulia.romano@sciences-po.fr http://www.mercury-fp7.net/
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Cette recherche explore les dynamiques et les impacts des transferts de concepts de developpement urbain durable (DUD) de l’Europe vers la Chine. Ce sujet a suscite de plus en plus d’interet, suite a l’apparition de partenariats... more
Cette recherche explore les dynamiques et les impacts des transferts de concepts de developpement urbain durable (DUD) de l’Europe vers la Chine. Ce sujet a suscite de plus en plus d’interet, suite a l’apparition de partenariats internationaux pour le developpement d’eco-villes et de methodes pour ameliorer la qualite de vie des villes existantes. Cette etude explore en particulier une initiative de cooperation internationale qui a concerne la ville de Yangzhou dans les annees 2000. Cette initiative visait a promouvoir le transfert du concept de « renovation urbaine douce », developpe a Berlin au debut des annees 1980, afin d’encourager la conservation des quartiers traditionnels de Yangzhou. Partant des questions de recherche vouees a savoir si un modele developpe dans un contexte specifique peut etre mis en œuvre dans un autre, et la contribution de la cooperation internationale dans ce processus, cette etude analyse le transfert de la renovation urbaine douce a Yangzhou. Elle uti...
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Despite a significant development of green industries over the last years, it is still too early to speak of a « Chinese energy transition ». The strong influence of the state and of large public firms in energy production and... more
Despite a significant development of green industries over the last years, it is still too early to speak of a « Chinese energy transition ». The strong influence of the state and of large public firms in energy production and distribution, at the core of China industrial growth, is an obstacle to the emergence of a low-carbon economy and to a real energy transition in the short term. The government adopted a number of effective measures to promote energy efficiency and renewable energies. However, these strategies contribute to confort energy security of the country, but fail so far to significantly curb the use of fossil fuels.
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In this chapter, the author introduces the practices of urban renewal in China in the early 2000s. It focuses on the plans and policies of the Old City of Yangzhou, as well as on the local practices of urban renewal and conservation. It... more
In this chapter, the author introduces the practices of urban renewal in China in the early 2000s. It focuses on the plans and policies of the Old City of Yangzhou, as well as on the local practices of urban renewal and conservation. It also introduces the main structural forces that support these same practices, which are not only exclusive to Yangzhou, but can be found in many other localities in China. These forces can be ascribed to four major reforms introduced by the central government during the 1980s–1990s that considerably increased the competences of local governments in city development and pushed them to invest money and efforts in transforming substantially the aspect and life of Chinese cities.
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The European Union and China are two key players in climate change politics, in terms of their huge contributions to, and their significant influence in, solving the problem. By tracing the development of the EU’s engagement with China in... more
The European Union and China are two key players in climate change politics, in terms of their huge contributions to, and their significant influence in, solving the problem. By tracing the development of the EU’s engagement with China in the background of global climate change governance, the paper finds out that past bilateral cooperation and dialogue between the EU and China have shown mixed impacts on the construction of a multilateral climate change regime. The paper argues that the EU’s approach of engaging with new rising players, particularly China, in moving the multilateral climate change negotiation forward should be improved to be more effective. Yan Bo Email: boyan@fudan.edu.cn Giulia C. Romano Email: giulia.romano@sciences-po.fr Zhimin Chen Email: zhmchen@fudan.edu.cn http://www.mercury-fp7.net/
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Cet article a pour objectif de mettre en lumiere les apports des theories de l’apprentissage organisationnel dans l’etude des transferts des concepts lies aux ecocites vers la Chine. En prenant l’exemple du transfert du concept de «... more
Cet article a pour objectif de mettre en lumiere les apports des theories de l’apprentissage organisationnel dans l’etude des transferts des concepts lies aux ecocites vers la Chine. En prenant l’exemple du transfert du concept de « renouvellement urbain prudent » vers la ville de Yangzhou, nous montrerons que la contribution de la cooperation internationale a la reforme des pratiques de developpement urbain local peut etre fortement limitee par les structures institutionnelles et organisationnelles existantes. Le processus de reforme est ainsi marque par une certaine instabilite et irregularite, qui se traduit par une introduction selective, progressive et incertaine de nouvelles approches du (re)developpement de la ville.
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In the global warming issue, China now covers the record of the first world polluter. Moreover, by far the country has shown a reticent attitude towards the possibility of engaging in an international accord stipulating concrete targets... more
In the global warming issue, China now covers the record of the first world polluter. Moreover, by far the country has shown a reticent attitude towards the possibility of engaging in an international accord stipulating concrete targets for emissions reduction. But how could we explain the partial change occurred in Durban, where China finally accepted the EU-proposed “platform ?” We try to answer this question by observing the internal context and asking another preliminary question : has China adopted a climate change policy ? The answer seems to be positive.
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This paper, the first step of a project aiming at analysing the establishment of practices of resident participation and consultation in urban renewal in China, proposes a reflection upon these practices through a comparison with similar... more
This paper, the first step of a project aiming at analysing the establishment of practices of resident participation and consultation in urban renewal in China, proposes a reflection upon these practices through a comparison with similar experiences in France. Identifying some convergences between the practices adopted in the two countries, the paper proposes to reflect upon such puzzling outcomes, provocatively questioning the classic distinction between authoritarian and democratic regimes. It suggests that our analyses and interpretations shall get rid of classical binary categorisations between regime types to embrace a comparative analysis of the policies and practices introduced in various local contexts, and reflect upon their underlying logics. In so doing, the paper engages with He and Warren's concept of ‘authoritarian deliberation’ as well as with the critiques expressed by a number of French scholars on concepts such as ‘participative democracy’ and ‘good governance’...
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A secure supply of energy is essential for all nations, to sustain their economy, and indeed their very survival. This subject is especially important in the case of China, as China’s booming economy and consequent demand for energy is... more
A secure supply of energy is essential for all nations, to sustain their economy, and indeed their very survival. This subject is especially important in the case of China, as China’s booming economy and consequent demand for energy is affecting the whole world, and in turn potentially driving realignments in international relations. Moreover, as this book argues, energy security should be considered more broadly, to include issues of sustainability, environmental protection and the domestic organisation of energy policy and energy supply. This book presents a comprehensive picture of China’s energy security. It covers all energy sectors – coal, oil, gas, renewables; international relations with all major sources of energy supply – the Middle East, Central Asia, Africa; and key areas of domestic policy making and supply.
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Plusieurs projets sont actuellement menes en Chine au nom du developpement urbain durable, dont les plus connus et publicises sont surement les projets de nouvelles eco-villes. Cependant, une litterature en plein essor montre deja les... more
Plusieurs projets sont actuellement menes en Chine au nom du developpement urbain durable, dont les plus connus et publicises sont surement les projets de nouvelles eco-villes. Cependant, une litterature en plein essor montre deja les conceptualisations erronees incarnees par ces realisations, et des doutes emergent notamment au sujet de leurs objectifs, ainsi que de leur conception du developpement urbain durable. En particulier, on peut deja se poser la question concernant les intitules de ces projets, se demandant qui a le droit au developpement urbain durable. Nous proposons de traiter la question en tracant une comparaison entre deux projets de cooperation internationale qui ont commence au debut des annees 2000 et qui montrent deux approches du developpement urbain durable tres opposees. Nous souhaitons souligner qu’il est possible d’adopter des approches alternatives et que la communaute internationale devrait mieux reflechir a la maniere dont elle coopere avec la Chine dans l’exploration du concept de developpement urbain durable.
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In the face of more and more environmental pollution and the rapid pace of urbanisation, sustainable urban development has become an increasingly important issue for China. As the country aims to bring urbanisation levels up to 70% by... more
In the face of more and more environmental pollution and the rapid pace of urbanisation, sustainable urban development has become an increasingly important issue for China. As the country aims to bring urbanisation levels up to 70% by 2035, the way its cities develop and the control of resources consumed for growing urban activity are of paramount importance. Yet, despite a rhetoric pushing for the realisation of sustainable cities, urban development practices currently show a persistently different picture, casting doubts over the effectiveness of policies adopted at the different levels of government. The different dimensions of environmental management in sustainable urban development policies still encounter important obstacles in their implementation.