Estimación de costes de programación

The literature reviewed in this chapter shows diverse theories and practices of governance and local governance in the development discourse at a global level. The discussion also covered the theory of polycentric governance which the researcher has selected as the conceptual framework for this study. In addition, the relations of polycentric governance with local governance and decentralisation were discussed. Three main conclusions can be drawn from this literature review.

Firstly, by tracing the definitions of governance and the theories of local governance, this chapter has shown that local governance is a process in which multiple stakeholders play their roles in policy-making. The global requirement for local governance demonstrates the trend for the diversification of stakeholders in governance. Public affairs such as the provision of public goods and development policy-making are not only the matter of local governments, but also for the private sector and social organisations. Therefore, decentralised governance can be formed in which there are polycentric centres.

Secondly, the literature review demonstrates that the theory of polycentric governance is inclusive and adaptive, because it advocates a model of governance based on decentralisation and new power centres beyond the government. In addition, diverse debates and the growing interests in the Western theories of local governance and polycentric governance by Chinese scholars demonstrate that there is a lack of indigenous theories of local governance which can be used to discuss diverse local development issues in the Chinese context. So, by tracing the origin and development of the theory of polycentric governance, and showing its relevance to the Chinese context, the researcher has justified his use of polycentric governance as the conceptual framework for this study.

Thirdly, this literature review demonstrates the evolution of local governance systems. This evolution has influenced the local political environment and the institutional framework in which the deputies in the counties play their roles. Therefore, the two research questions, the way in which the deputies play their roles in representing the interests of the state and/or the interests of the community are discussed under the umbrella of governance and local governance. There are multiple actors in local governance in China. The deputies represent different interests groups who can be the state, or their constituents. The theory of polycentric governance was selected as the conceptual framework to explore issues related to local

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governance in the Miao area where there are multiple stakeholders and where there exists a structure of polycentric governance.

Ethnic groups such as Miao are often conceived of being gradually assimilated into the dominant Han nationality in China. However, the traditional Miao system of social organisations in Guizhou still operates and plays an important role in mediating conflicts and coordinating village and community development. A reputable “old Miao chief in a village” (zhailao, መ㘱) can be elected as a deputy of County People’s Congress (CPC) and/or the director of Villagers’ Committee (VC). This mixture of systems demonstrates that there is a structure of polycentric governance in the Miao villages and their communities.

This study focuses on a county dominated by Miao ethnic group in Guizhou province as a case study. With the differentiation of local governance and decentralisation at a global level, the literature review in this chapter provides a theoretical backdrop for this study to the convergence, complexity and heterogeneity of governance issues and processes in different areas in China. In order to discuss the politics and practices of current local governance in the counties of China, there is a need to understand the historical local governance policies and systems which were promoted and implemented in the ethnic areas. Chapter three focuses on these historical perspectives.

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Chapter Three: Governance in the ethnic areas in China

3.1 Introduction

Since its decentralisation reforms in 1978, local governments in China have carried out

“major functional responsibilities from economic development to social welfare provision”

(Caulfield, 2006, p. 253). However, when local governments are the primary driver of economic reforms at local level (Caulfield, 2006), many issues related to the roles of local government such as imbalances of socio-economic development, unequal income distribution, environmental pollution and inefficient provision of public goods have appeared under the

“model of monocentric social management of local governments” (Xuemei Wang, 2011, p. 54). Therefore, as Xuemei Wang (2011, p. 55) points out, some local governments are

envisaging a “crisis of trust” due to their “malfunction” in the process of governance and they

are gradually losing their “confidence of public” (gonggongxing, ޜ ޡ ᙗ) in public administration.

The malfunction of local governments under monocentric governance suggests the exploration and demand of a new governance model in China (L. Sun & Sun, 2007; S. Yu, 2005). Polycentric governance changes the actors of local governance from unitary to polycentric, and shifts the focus from centralisation to a decentralisation of power (Liao, 2014). It breaks apart the monopoly power of local governments in public management and calls attention to the participation of government, market and society (P. Li, 2014). The

deputies of the Local People’s Congresses (LPCs) communicate with local government, market and society through their deputy status. In practice this means they visit the local governments to ask for development projects for their constituents and in turn, visit their constituents to promote the state policies and solicit public opinions from them. They play their roles in representing the interests of the state and/or the community by communicating with different stakeholders in the process of local governance.

In the previous chapter, the theories of governance and local governance in Western countries were discussed and the theory of polycentric governance was introduced as the main conceptual framework. These theories demonstrate a high degree of homogeneity in terms of local governance in Western countries (T. Chen & Xiao, 2010). In contrast, local governance

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in China is characterised as complex and heterogeneous because “differentiation between regions and localities is actively encouraged” (Caulfield, 2006, p. 253). In order to discuss the issues of local governance in China, there is a need to understand Chinese local governance systems from ancient to contemporary periods, especially those practiced in the ethnic areas, From this, insights from analysing the effects of the transformation in systems of governance over time can be gained (Herbst, 2014). In addition, it’s also important to know how ethnicity, local politics and some aspects of cultural tourism can impact on governance. All these elements, together with the local governance systems, are used as a contextual background in this study to explore the roles that the deputies play.

In this chapter, historical local governance systems such as the chieftain system are discussed in Section 3.2, followed by an explanation of the Ethnic Regional Autonomous System (ERAS) and county governmental authorities in Section 3.3. Then, a particular explanation is

given for the Local People’s Congresses (LPCs) and their deputies in Section 3.4 as the roles

that the deputies play are the central analysis of this thesis. Section 3.5 provides a brief introduction on local governance and democratisation in China. Section 3.6 gives a brief introduction on ethnicity, politics and cultural tourism in the Chinese context. Some core concepts in Chinese context are introduced in order to have a better understanding of the Chinese political tradition such as consensual democracy and development interventions in Section 3.7 and 3.8. Section 3.9 provides a brief introduction to the field research in order to have a better understanding of the local institutional framework. At the end, Section 3.10 provides four main conclusions linking the research background with the two research questions.