The Blueway and the Red Line Spiderweb
Assessing the Impact of Repressive and Ideological State Apparatuses on Environmental Protests in China
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6040774 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Kuoray Mao (0000-0003-4067-6059, Colorado State University, corresponding author), Zhong Zhao (0000-0003-3587-400X, Colorado State University), Yue Xu (0000-0002-3436-1539, Colorado State University) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 17 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Publication date | 2025-04-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Asian Politics & Policy (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1943-0787 • E-ISSN: 1943-0779 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/aspp.70018 |
| OpenAlex | W4409450107 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 28 |
This study examines China's environmental governance through the framework of Althusser's Repressive and Ideological State Apparatuses, using the 2021 Shenzhen Blueway Ecological Belt Project as a case study. Despite the formalization of public participation, the authoritarian state employs legal, bureaucratic, and ideological mechanisms to suppress dissent while preserving legitimacy. The findings reveal how control over information flows and media narratives, coupled with legal and bureaucratic constraints on NGOs, systematically undermines public engagement and reinforces top‐down governance. The Shenzhen case demonstrates the state's dual strategy of repression and ideological control, wherein environmental governance operates both as a political instrument and a means of consolidating state authority. By co‐opting NGOs, restricting transparency, and framing environmental contention as a national security threat, the state effectively neutralizes opposition and fortifies its state‐capitalist accumulation model. This study contributes to the discourse on authoritarian environmentalism, underscoring its long‐term implications for sustainability, public participation, and state‐society relations
China · Ideology · Line (geometry · Media studies · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · State (computer science · China's Socioeconomic Reforms and Governance · Computer Science · Environmental Justice and Health Disparities · Hydropower, Displacement, Environmental Impact · Law
China's Green Consensus
Unpacking Authoritarian Environmental Governance
Making Authoritarian Environmentalism Accountable? Understanding China’s New Reforms on Environmental Governance
Environmental Protection in the Hands of the State
Research on the Paths and Effectiveness of Governance Tools Based on the Evolution of Environmental Nimby Event
Authoritarian environmentalism 2.0
Civil society, environmental litigation, and Confucian energy justice
Constructing Legitimacy
Enforcing Law Through Authoritarian Environmentalism? State and Non-State Actors in China's Environmental Public Interest Litigation
Advocacy in an Authoritarian State
Environmental policy change in two transitional societies
Advocacy Coalitions and Policy Change in China
Nimbyism in China
Public participation in China's EIA process and the regulation of environmental disputes
Emerging environmental Multi-Level Governance in China? Environmental protests, public participation and local institution-building
Neither Withdrawal nor Resistance
Hide and brag
Civil society organizations in China
The NGO law in China and its impact on Overseas funded NGOs
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |