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Policy Process in Flux: Navigating China’s Health Policy Formulation and Implementation During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Zhang, Guocheng (2024) COSM40 20241
Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies, Lund University
Abstract
The dynamics of China’s complex policy process, shaped by the decentralization reforms of the 1980s, remain the subject of much discussion. As China spent three years adhering to its eradication strategy in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, it seems that the relevant theories from the past need to be updated. The purpose of this study was to understand how irrational decisions were made and why unintended consequences occurred in the implementation of China’s zero-COVID policy. Using the Fragmented Authoritarianism model as its theoretical framework, this study analyzed data collected from government documents and news reports with qualitative content analysis approach. As part of the purpose of the study, it examined the validity of the... (More)
The dynamics of China’s complex policy process, shaped by the decentralization reforms of the 1980s, remain the subject of much discussion. As China spent three years adhering to its eradication strategy in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, it seems that the relevant theories from the past need to be updated. The purpose of this study was to understand how irrational decisions were made and why unintended consequences occurred in the implementation of China’s zero-COVID policy. Using the Fragmented Authoritarianism model as its theoretical framework, this study analyzed data collected from government documents and news reports with qualitative content analysis approach. As part of the purpose of the study, it examined the validity of the model in the health policy arena. This study found that China’s political process still conformed to the framework built by the Fragmented Authoritarian model, but that the intervention of the political strongman and the change of key variables regarding specific political agendas reshaped the norm of Chinese politics over the pandemic period. This study contributes to the discussion of China’s policy process under the influence of inter-authority interactions and conflicts and provides a health policy perspective on the validity of the Fragmented Authoritarian model. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Zhang, Guocheng
supervisor
organization
course
COSM40 20241
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
China policy process, Health policy implementation, COVID-19, Zero- COVID policy
language
English
id
9176362
date added to LUP
2024-10-09 16:22:50
date last changed
2024-10-09 16:22:50
@misc{9176362,
  abstract     = {{The dynamics of China’s complex policy process, shaped by the decentralization reforms of the 1980s, remain the subject of much discussion. As China spent three years adhering to its eradication strategy in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, it seems that the relevant theories from the past need to be updated. The purpose of this study was to understand how irrational decisions were made and why unintended consequences occurred in the implementation of China’s zero-COVID policy. Using the Fragmented Authoritarianism model as its theoretical framework, this study analyzed data collected from government documents and news reports with qualitative content analysis approach. As part of the purpose of the study, it examined the validity of the model in the health policy arena. This study found that China’s political process still conformed to the framework built by the Fragmented Authoritarian model, but that the intervention of the political strongman and the change of key variables regarding specific political agendas reshaped the norm of Chinese politics over the pandemic period. This study contributes to the discussion of China’s policy process under the influence of inter-authority interactions and conflicts and provides a health policy perspective on the validity of the Fragmented Authoritarian model.}},
  author       = {{Zhang, Guocheng}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Policy Process in Flux: Navigating China’s Health Policy Formulation and Implementation During the COVID-19 Pandemic}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}