China's Green Consensus: Participation, Co-optation, and Legitimation

205 Pages·2022·4.738 MB·English

by  Virginie Arantes

China’sGreenConsensus;byVirginieArantes
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’
China s Green Consensus
Despite contrasting approaches, democratic and authoritarian governments all
underline the fact that environmental protection is crucial and inevitable—and
China’senthusiasminsteppingupitseffortstoprotecttheenvironmenthasnot
gone unnoticed. This book highlights how the consensual orchestration of sus-
tainability in China’s biggest city, Shanghai, affects non-state actors’ ways of
perceiving, acting, and organizing around environmental issues.
China’s Green Consensus examines grassroots realities as they intersect with
eventsofeverydaylife,offeringinsightsintoareasthatfartranscenddebatesover
coerciveformsofenvironmentalismandexploringthe“soft”and“green”facetsof
President Xi Jinping’s authoritarian approach togovernance. The importance of
environmental protection in people’s lives serves as a lens to analyze and under-
stand authoritarian adaptations to environmental global phenomena. Arantes
highlights how, through mobilization and (de)politicization, a “green” consensus
leadstothedisplacementofstateresponsibilitiesandthecultivationofcivilsociety
in its own image. In so doing, she opens up new ways of thinking about
the complexities of environmental governance, consensus politics, subject
making, and citizenship in authoritarian contexts.
This book will be of interest to scholars and students of Chinese society and
politics, environmental politics, political ecology, international relations, and
urbanization in Asia, as well as all others interested in the rising appeal of
authoritarianismaroundtheglobe.
Virginie Arantes is a Wiener-Anspach Postdoctoral Fellow at the University
of Oxford, England. She researches in the areas of environmental politics,
governance and ideologies, state–society relations, and urban life.
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Routledge Contemporary Asian Societies
Routledge Contemporary Asian Societies provides an original and distinctive
contributiontocurrentdebatesonevolutionsshapingsocieties,cultures,politics
and media across North and South East Asia. It is interdisciplinary in its
approach and the editors welcome proposals across the social sciences and
humanities; from political, social, cultural and economic studies to gender,
media,literature,anthropology,philosophyandreligion.
Series Editors: Vanessa Frangville and Frederik Ponjaert, Research Centre
on East Asia (EASt), Université libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
China’s Youth Culture and Collective Spaces
Creativity, Sociality, Identity and Resistance
Edited by Vanessa Frangville and Gwennaël Gaffric
History, Memory and Territorial Cults in the Highlands of Laos
The Past Inside the Present
Pierre Petit
China-Latin America and the Caribbean
Assessment and Outlook
Thierry Kellner and Sophie Wintgens
China’s Green Consensus
Participation, Co-optation and Legitimation
Virginie Arantes
China’sGreenConsensus;byVirginieArantes
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’
China s Green Consensus
Participation, Co-optation, and
Legitimation
Virginie Arantes
China’sGreenConsensus;byVirginieArantes
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Firstpublished2023
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©2023VirginieArantes
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ISBN:978-1-032-13881-7(hbk)
ISBN:978-1-032-13883-1(pbk)
ISBN:978-1-003-23132-5(ebk)
DOI:10.4324/9781003231325
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Contents
List of illustrations vi
Acknowledgements viii
1 Introduction: creating a “common greenvision” 1
2 “Greening” authoritarianism 20
3 The cooperative road towards sustainability in Shanghai 51
4 An iron fist in avelvet glove 79
5 Embracing the market 112
6 Urban sustainability as consensual practice 140
7 Concluding thoughts: Environmental authoritarianism: from
theory to practice 168
Appendix A: Semi-structured interviews 179
Appendix B: Observed registered SGOs 181
Appendix C: Characteristics of the analyzed social enterprises 182
Index 186
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Illustrations
Figures
2.1 Propaganda Poster referring to the “Chinese dream (zhongguo
meng 中国梦)” showcased in a destruction site in Shanghai. 30
2.2 Environmental authoritarianism analytical framework. 35
2.3 Actor-Network Theory: four moments of translation. 40
3.1 Major stages of Shanghai’s urban environmental management. 55
3.2 Entrance of Pudong Public Welfare Street. 60
3.3 Shanghai’s Municipal Government governance apparatus. 66
3.4 Shequ walls in Shanghai. 69
4.1 Main and Secondary Obligatory Passage Points of the “green
account”. 86
4.2 Entrance of a Residential Committee. 88
4.3 Entrance of a “model quarter” Neighbourhood Community. 89
4.4 Community trash containers after the implementation of the
“green account”. 91
4.5 KaraokesessionorganisedinaShanghainesecommunityduring
a “Green Account” activity. 94
4.6 A child shares his thoughts after the screening of Wang
Jiuliang’s movie, Plastic China, organised by three
environmental SGOs. 97
4.7 ZeroWaste staff WeChat post demanding residents act as “good
citizens”. 100
5.1 Farming program framework. Source: Adapted from one of the
co-founder’s presentations attended by the author in Shanghai. 125
6.1 Environmental Propaganda in abus station (left) and coveringa
construction site (right). 153
6.2 Recycling and environmental carnival poster. 155
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List of illustrations vii
Table
3.1 Development phases of China’s purchase of services. 61
Box
5.1 Micro funding with Shanghai Soup. 120
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Acknowledgements
ResearchforthisprojectwasfundedbyaFundforScientificResearch(F.R.S.–
FNRS)ResearchGrantundertheauspicesoftheUniversitélibredeBruxelles,a
Wallonia-Brussels International Excellence Grant, and a Fieldwork Research
Grant from the Université libre de Bruxelles. I am extremely grateful to these
institutions, as well as support received from the Wiener-Anspach Foundation
andWolfsonCollegeinthelateststagesofthewriting.
The journey towards completing this book is unquestionably and infinitely
indebted to many individuals I had the chance to cross paths with during its
completion. Most of all, I wish to express my sincere gratitude to my dis-
sertation supervisors, Professor Vanessa Frangville and Professor Thierry
Kellner. Thank you both for your unconditional trust, support, and encour-
agement. I have been extremely lucky to have been taken under their wings
whenmostneeded.Withoutboththeirguidance,thisworkwouldbeinfinitely
different, certainly worse, and probably non-existent. More than an intellec-
tualjourney,Thierry’scontagiouspassionforknowledgeandVanessa’sability
to make the impossible possible will keep on pushing me forward. I also
thank Dr. Luca Tomini for his numerous inputs and priceless advice. Your
generosity has been one of the valuable contributions to this book.
My gratitude is also to my colleagues in China. I am deeply thankful for
their warm welcome. The fieldwork wouldn’t have been so fruitful if not for
their extreme kindness and support. The other most obvious people to
thank are all the informants, activists, and scholars I have met in China and
beyond. Unfortunately, I cannot cite their names here, but I am obviously
indebted to them for accepting to speak with me and share their invaluable
knowledge.
ThelistofcolleaguesandfriendstowhomIowedebtsofgratitudeisalengthy
one.ImuststartbytakingLisaRichaud:Igreatlybenefitedfromhersuggestions
and our rich conversations (and I still do). Next, all my colleagues from CEVI-
POL, Emilien Paulis, Marco Ognibene, Arthur Borriello, Lara Querton, Fanny
Vrydagh, Fanny Sbaraglia, Suzan Gibril, Robin Lebrun, Ekaterina Gloriozova,
DavidTalukder,and,ofcourse,LeslieGrietens,whohavecontributedtomaking
thiswritingjourneysuchanenjoyableexperience.MydearcolleaguesfromEASt,
Clémentine Léonard, Coraline Jortay, Hua Bin, Van Minh Nguyen, Nolwenn
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Acknowledgements ix
Salmon, Flora Lichaa, Sonemany Nigole, and Frederik Ponjaert, many of
whom have become friends for life.
Finally, strengths come in many forms, and mine unquestionably from my
familyand theirconstantand unconditional support. MerciMaman, for your
encouragement, your comments, your corrections, your precious advice and
what you help me to be. Obrigada Papa for believing in me. I dedicate this
book to you. Thank you, Elodie, just for being there for me.
My most profound debt, however, andwords cannot express how grateful I
am, goes to Vitor Lemos, my life partner, lover, friend, critic, and best sup-
porter. Thank you, not only for following me around the world, but for
(almost) always finding the right word.