Magic Potion or Mirage? Paradoxical Institutional Logics in China's Contemporary Poverty Governance

• In Event: 20867 - Problem-Solving Sociology of Development

Abstract

China’s contemporary poverty governance is distinctive not only for its remarkable outcomes in poverty alleviation but also for its institutional logic, which diverges from conventional development models in both Global North and Global South. Drawing on ethnographic research (2018–2021) across three provinces, an original dataset of poverty alleviation reports from six national and local Party newspapers (2017–2021), and the government and corporate statistics, we identify three paradoxical dualities in the institutional logic of poverty-alleviation policies in economic, political, and environmental areas: neoliberal welfarism within a socialist redistributive framework, affective governance within a legal-rational bureaucratic system, and moralized biopolitics within technocratic governance. We further examine how these conflicting logics coexist and shape the effectiveness and social consequences of China’s poverty governance. We conclude by discussing the broader implications of the Chinese case for development models in global contexts.

Authors

• Yuanhang Zhu, Yale University

• Zikun Liu