Environmental Governance under Authoritarian Rule : Singapore and China
Research output: Working Papers › Working paper
Author(s)
Related Research Unit(s)
Detail(s)
Original language | English |
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Place of Publication | Hong Kong |
Publisher | Southeast Asia Research Centre |
Pages | 1-26 |
Publication status | Published - Sept 2016 |
Publication series
Name | Southeast Asia Research Centre (SEARC) Working Paper Series |
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Publisher | Southeast Asia Research Centre |
No. | 189 |
Link(s)
Document Link | Links
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Permanent Link | https://scholars.cityu.edu.hk/en/publications/publication(86bdbf80-a920-4d39-b5a1-74df36d887b7).html |
Abstract
This paper considers the possibility of technocratic authoritarian rule to deal more effectively with environmental problems than liberal democracy by comparing Singapore, often regarded as the role model of eco-authoritarianism, with China which wants to follow the city-state's footsteps. However, a closer look at Singapore shows that the city-state's environmental record is only stellar in a utalitarian sense when it is profitable for the city-state. The picture is very different when we consider the near complete destruction of the small country's natural areas. In regard to China, such an approach would, however, be devastating as natural areas have already been reduced to a minimum. In addition, China does not even have effective institutions to deal with the massive environmental crisis the country is facing. Despite massive air and water pollution and heavy investments in new technologies, China has not been able to revert this dire situation. Instead, the reliance on “performance legitimacy” has resulted in an attempt to maintain massive economic growth by among other things increasing the consumption of China's growing middle class. The comparison thus demonstrates that technocratic authoritarianism is not a realistic option to deal with environmental problems.
Citation Format(s)
Environmental Governance under Authoritarian Rule: Singapore and China . / ORTMANN, Stephan.
Hong Kong: Southeast Asia Research Centre, 2016. p. 1-26 (Southeast Asia Research Centre (SEARC) Working Paper Series; No. 189).
Hong Kong: Southeast Asia Research Centre, 2016. p. 1-26 (Southeast Asia Research Centre (SEARC) Working Paper Series; No. 189).
Research output: Working Papers › Working paper