Two Kings, One Kingdom: State Inter-Agency Conflict as a Detour to Cooperation

• In Event: 50220 - Section on Organizations, Occupations, and Work Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 7: States and Institutions

Abstract

This study examines how and why state agencies with overlapping jurisdictions could establish power dynamics, reorganize functional divisions, and build cooperative relationships in the absence of formal integrative mechanisms. While existing research on inter-agency coordination focuses on top-down management and institutional design, little attention has been paid to how agencies navigate conflicts when such mechanisms are absent or ineffective. Using a comparative study of 52 Chinese villages implementing the Targeted Poverty Alleviation (TPA) project, this article explores the interactions between village committees and task forces—two state agencies with equal legal status, ambiguous role distinctions, and significant disagreements over the direction and details of development projects. By incorporating insights on the informal authority, interdependence, and stages of interaction, I propose a theoretical framework to understand the mechanisms by which state agencies seek to assert influence using their unique resources, networks, and information. More importantly, I further theorize the role of inter-agency conflict in fostering cooperation, arguing that conflict facilitates communication and enables power-sharing. Inter-agency cooperation requires on-the-ground negotiation of jurisdictions and power-sharing. In this sense, state institutions that initiate conflict are also competing for the opportunity to participate in cooperation on an equal footing. By contrast, avoiding conflict means ceding one's own power, which can lead to an imbalanced power relationship and push inter-agency interaction into a dynamic of dominance and submission. This study advances organizational sociology’s understanding of inter-agency relations by demonstrating that, under certain conditions, conflict serves as a crucial mechanism for integrating state institutions and fostering coordination.

Author

• Chang Liu, University of Notre Dame