2026/02/04 by Fengshi Wu · 1 voice · 1 citation
Social Sciences · #China's Socioeconomic Reforms and Governance #International Development and Aid #Vietnamese History and Culture Studies
paper · pdf · doi:10.1080/09644016.2026.2627173
openalex publication_date 2026/02/04 · openalex created_date 2026/02/06 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
The paper examines and compares environmental politics and state-society relations in three autocracies: China, Kazakhstan, and Vietnam. In all three cases, quasi-non-governmental organizations (a.k.a. quasi-NGOs) have (re)emerged and become relevant to environmental governance in recent decades. The central authorities in these cases have invested in creating, retaining and supporting certain quasi-NGOs for various governing purposes, including monitoring and managing bottom-up activism and social mobilization. The comparative findings of this research shed light on how authoritarian states absorb social capital and international assistance and strengthen environmental governance by (re)inventing quasi-NGOs. Quasi-NGOs, negotiating their roles between state authorities and grassroots organizations, demonstrate at the meso-level both how environmental authoritarianism operates and how it is contested. The quasi-NGO sector is a critical space to watch in the coming years, as it provides insight into the continuity and change of authoritarian rule, and the challenges brought up by environmental degradation and bottom-up activism.