The politics of ambiguity: Local strategies in China's energy policy and governance

IF 6.9 2区经济学 Q1 ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

Energy Research & Social Science Pub Date : 2025-02-19 DOI:10.1016/j.erss.2025.103985

Kaiyuan Lin

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

This study investigates how local governments in China navigate energy efficiency and decarbonization policies, focusing on power rationing events in Y City and S City during 2020 and 2021. It introduces the concept of the “politics of ambiguity” to analyze how local governments exploit policy ambiguity—stemming from central mandates, resource constraints, and bounded rationality—to adapt and innovate under an authoritarian environmental governance framework. Y City's reactive, campaign-style governance highlighted how severe ambiguity can lead to inefficiencies and social disruptions. In contrast, S City's proactive, collaborative strategy demonstrated how ambiguity, when leveraged effectively, fosters stakeholder engagement, innovation, and more sustainable policy outcomes. This comparative analysis reveals the dual nature of ambiguity as both a constraint and an enabler, emphasizing its dynamic and iterative role in balancing central oversight with local discretion. The findings highlight the need for governance frameworks that support local adaptation and stakeholder participation, offering insights into China's energy transition and broader authoritarian governance contexts. By exploring ambiguity as an inherent feature of governance, this study sheds light on how local governments navigate central-local dynamics and adapt policy implementation strategies to address the challenges of energy transition within complex and evolving environmental governance systems.

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来源期刊

Energy Research & Social Science ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES-

CiteScore

14.00

自引率

16.40%

发文量

441

审稿时长

55 days

期刊介绍： Energy Research & Social Science (ERSS) is a peer-reviewed international journal that publishes original research and review articles examining the relationship between energy systems and society. ERSS covers a range of topics revolving around the intersection of energy technologies, fuels, and resources on one side and social processes and influences - including communities of energy users, people affected by energy production, social institutions, customs, traditions, behaviors, and policies - on the other. Put another way, ERSS investigates the social system surrounding energy technology and hardware. ERSS is relevant for energy practitioners, researchers interested in the social aspects of energy production or use, and policymakers. Energy Research & Social Science (ERSS) provides an interdisciplinary forum to discuss how social and technical issues related to energy production and consumption interact. Energy production, distribution, and consumption all have both technical and human components, and the latter involves the human causes and consequences of energy-related activities and processes as well as social structures that shape how people interact with energy systems. Energy analysis, therefore, needs to look beyond the dimensions of technology and economics to include these social and human elements.