Conversations: Think local, act central - innovation in local level policymaking in China

In this episode of Lowy Institute Conversations, Research Fellow Jennifer Hsu speaks with Jessica Teets about policy experimentation and diffusion at the local level in China, and the consequences for civil society.

Jennifer and Jessica discuss local-level policy innovations that have taken place in the past five years, and also where space for experimentation has shrunk. They talk about what the Communist Party’s upcoming National Congress might mean for understanding long-term trends in policymaking in China.

Banner photo courtesy of Flickr user Mike Beltzner, used under a Creative Commons licence.

Jessica Teets is a Professor at Middlebury College, and Associate Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Chinese Political Science. Her research focuses on governance in authoritarian regimes, especially the role of civic participation. She is the author of Civil Society Under Authoritarianism: The China Model (Cambridge University Press, 2014). Jessica is currently co-authoring a new book manuscript on changing governance under Xi Jinping. She has a forthcoming co-edited volume developing a theory of how to lobby dictators.

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