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Building Civil Society Under the Shadows of Authoritarianism

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Building Civil Society in Authoritarian China

Part of the book series: SpringerBriefs in Environment, Security, Development and Peace ((BRIEFSSECUR,volume 20))

Abstract

Writings about civil society in general and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in particular have downplayed the value of state linkage for the development of non-state social actors in non-democratic settings. Those writings have generally emphasized the state’s constraints on the development of NGOs in authoritarian countries. However, an increasing number of scholars have discovered that NGOs in non-democratic countries can accrue real benefits by establishing strong linkages to the authoritarian state, which control critical organizational resources. Similarly, in existing studies about NGOs in non-democratic states, the importance of NGO leadership has been overshadowed by the attention to structural factors. Yet, NGO leaders are valuable resources for their respective organizations. Among the critical roles that NGO leaders play in advancing organizational effectiveness is their role as resource agents. The NGO’s dependence on external resources means that the leader’s social ties are among the most valuable leadership skills. Given the state’s control of critical organizational resources in contemporary China, state linkages constitute the most valuable form of leadership ties for China’s NGOs.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    One notable exception is Andrew Wells-Dang, who argued that networks of organizations and individuals are the most important constituents of civil society in non-democracies like China and Vietnam. See Wells-Dang (2012).

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  1. Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University, 1957 E Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20052, USA

    John W. Tai

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Tai, J.W. (2015). Building Civil Society Under the Shadows of Authoritarianism. In: Building Civil Society in Authoritarian China. SpringerBriefs in Environment, Security, Development and Peace, vol 20. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-03665-6_1

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