8/14/2019 Untangling policy analysis, politics and democracy: the Chinese exception

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Untangling policy analysis, politics and democracy: the Chinese exceptionby Nicol Wojewoda

1. IntroductionRecent literature shows and studies have confirmed that a clash occurs between policy analysis andpolitics, while a positive link exists instead between policy analysis and democracy. This essay will

argue how these relations do not hold true in the case of China, not because of contingent factors,but due to a different structure and nature of the country's administrative system. It will do so byillustrating the arguments with examples that reflect the different processes in action in China and inanother country of reference with a very different governance structure, The Netherlands..

2. Policy analysis vs. politicsResearchers in the field of policy analysis posit a clash between their discipline and politics.Politicians often pursue individual goals (Swank, 1999; Letterie, 1997) and are not entirelyconcerned with the total welfare brought by one policy measure or another. In these cases,information is excluded from the political debate, as policy analysis studies are not fully internalized

by decision-makers, who rarely read more than the executive summary of a report. On the other

hand, information is used as a tool for winning political confrontations, as demonstrated by the factthat experts and advisors are usually appointed by politicians themselves. This approach results inselective use of policy studies for political purposes, which leads to an incorrect interpretation of theanalysis itself, deviating from its scientific basis.For example, The Netherlands' High Speed Railway Line Betuwerute has been source of majorpolitical battles that reflect how study results can be used with partisan purposes. Politiciansinterpreted and mentioned different parts of reports, or even different reports, in order to supporttheir particular political position. This inhibited a clear perspective on the full outcomes of thestudies themselves.China, instead, seems to be an exception to the rule. Its dominant-party system doesn't leave muchroom for political debate, resulting in policy analysis studies finding their way across more easily

than in other contexts. The Three Gorges Dam project is an example of how a study's outcomes laidout a couple of decades ago still go unchallenged by political actors and have instead beeninternalized fully and extensively.

3. Policy analysis vs. democracyAnother connection highlighted by part of the literature is the one between policy analysis anddemocracy. In contrast with a traditionalist view, that considers policy analysis as a tool forproviding the decision-maker with better options and better policies to be implemented, it is alsoargued that policy might be instead a tool for democracy (Shulock, 1999). According to this view,the transparency and the scientific rigour of the policy analysis process provides the general publicwith a more accountable and documented perspective on issues of interest, allowing them to be

engaged in a democratic process more easily, due to the increased amount of structured and justifiedknowledge.The Netherlands' Delta Work project is a major example of the country's polder model in action:an extensive and prolonged consultations of all the stakeholders involved, aimed at reaching totalconsensus on a determined course of action. Policy studies, in this case, have provided thestakeholders with a tool for reaching consensus, a common point to refer to in case ofdisagreements.In China, contrarily, again due to the dominant position of China's Communist Party (CCP), policyanalysis is often carried out internally to the party structures and few times the results (let alone the

8/14/2019 Untangling policy analysis, politics and democracy: the Chinese exception

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processes) see the light of the general public. On the other hand, democratic processes are indeedadopted, but independently from external policy advisoring activities.Again, the example of the Three Gorges Dam shows how the government, throughout the complexand decades-long procedure, made sure to involve all the interested stakeholders, although keepingthe ultimate decision for itself.

4. ConclusionThrough this short essay, I wanted to argue that the three elements that literature shows to besignificantly interrelated, lose their mutual interdependence in the case of China. By comparingpolicy analysis studies being used in decision-making processes in China and in The Netherlands, Ishowed how this argument holds true. The important feature of these exceptions is characterized bythe fact that exceptions occur not due to accidental circumstances, but because of profounddifferences in the administrative systems of the two countries. The rapid pace of development thatChina is experiencing in the last years is changing its administrative structures with it, so we mightexpect a different relation between the three elements of this essay in a few years from now.

References

Swank,A theory of policy advice, 1999Letterie,Learning and signalling by advisor selection, 1997

Shulock, The paradox of policy analysis: if it is not used, why do we produce so much of it?, 1999