Research · Area V
The mountains are high, and the Emperor is far away.
Decentralization in China has ushered in a constant dance — local discretion and central control. How does this play out in the provinces? This work has examined why apparently similar provinces adopt very different developmental strategies, and what that variation tells us about the structure of Chinese governance.
Shifting Strategies: The Politics of Radical Change in Provincial Development Policy in China
Donaldson, John A., and Xiaotao Yang. 2022. The China Quarterly 249: 139–59.
Assessing the Balance of Power in Central–Local Relations in China (edited volume)
Donaldson, John A., ed. 2017. Assessing the Balance of Power in Central–Local Relations in China. New York and London: Routledge.
Introduction: Understanding Central–Local Relations in China
Donaldson, John A. 2017. Chapter 1 in Assessing the Balance of Power in Central–Local Relations in China, ed. John A. Donaldson. London: Routledge, pp. 1–18.
China's Administrative Hierarchy: The Balance of Power and Winners and Losers Within China's Levels of Government
Donaldson, John A. 2017. Chapter 5 in Assessing the Balance of Power in Central–Local Relations in China, ed. John A. Donaldson. London: Routledge, pp. 105–37.
Regional Development Policy and Regional Inequality
Donaldson, John A. 2015. Chapter 11 in The Handbook of the Politics of China, ed. David S.G. Goodman. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar, pp. 197–204.
Donaldson, John A. 2009. Journal of Contemporary China 18(60): 421–44.
Provinces: Paradoxical Politics, Problematic Partners
Donaldson, John A. 2009. In China's Local Administration: Traditions and Changes in the Sub-National Hierarchy, eds. J.H. Chung and T.C. Lam. London: Routledge, pp. 14–38.