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Towards a constructed order of co-governance: Understanding the state–society dynamics of neighbourhood collaborative responses to COVID-19 in urban China

Author

Listed:
  • Zhilin Liu

    (Tsinghua University, China)

  • Sainan Lin

    (Wuhan University, China)

  • Tingting Lu

    (Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China)

  • Yue Shen

    (East China Normal University, China)

  • Sisi Liang

    (Tsinghua University, China)

Abstract

The state–society relationship in neighbourhood governance has been a focal topic in the urban governance literature, though the existing scholarship was primarily drawn from non-crisis situations. Adopting a mixed-methods approach, this study investigates the intricate state–society dynamics manifested at the neighbourhood scale as state and societal actors collaborated during China’s COVID-19 responses. Our study reveals a pattern of collaborative rather than confrontational dynamics between resident committees and other stakeholders during pandemic responses, which reflects the emergence of a constructed order of neighbourhood co-governance in urban China. Previous community-building reforms consolidated the political legitimacy, power and capacity of resident committees, which were empowered to play a critical coordinating role in bridging hierarchical state mobilisation and horizontal stakeholders in the collaborative pandemic responses. These findings contribute to a more nuanced understanding of neighbourhood co-governance in the international literature and provide lessons for resilience governance from a comparative lens.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhilin Liu & Sainan Lin & Tingting Lu & Yue Shen & Sisi Liang, 2023. "Towards a constructed order of co-governance: Understanding the state–society dynamics of neighbourhood collaborative responses to COVID-19 in urban China," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 60(9), pages 1730-1749, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:60:y:2023:i:9:p:1730-1749
    DOI: 10.1177/00420980221081314
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    References listed on IDEAS

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