International Nonprofits and Philanthropy in China, and China "Going Out" Into the World: New Developments and New Perspectives

Session Submission Type: Panel

Abstract

In the past decade we have seen important developments in China's policies toward inbound nonprofit activity and philanthropy, and in China's work to engage in nonprofit and philanthropic expansion on the international stage.

This panel explores new and important developments in the work of international nonprofits and philanthropy in China and in China's strategy for engaging beyond its borders in the nonprofit and philanthropic spheres.

In particular, this panel explores the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative's "people-to-people connectivity" pillar and expansion of work; authoritarian learning and international NGO adaptation in China and Russia; and developments in China's policies and regulation on the work of international NGOs and foundations in China.

These papers add to the growing academic literature on both state policy toward the nonprofit community in China -- particularly in its learning and regulatory elements -- and the growing academic literature on China's "going out" strategy, particularly in the less formal context.

Together these papers present a picture of increasing constraints at home and increasing confidence and activity overseas, topics worth carefully watching in the years ahead.

References

Bertram Lang, The Transnational Politics of Chinese Philanthropy, PhD dissertation, Goethe Frankfurt University, 2023.
Elizabeth Plantan, A Tale of Two Laws: Managing Foreign Agents and Overseas NGOs in Russia and China. In Valerie J. Bunce, Karrie J. Koesel, and Jessica C. Weiss, eds., Citizens & the State in Authoritarian Regimes: Comparing Russia & China. Oxford University Press. 2020.
Mark Sidel, Managing the Foreign: The Drive to Securitize Foreign Nonprofit and Foundation Management in China, Voluntas, August 2019.

Sub Unit

• Third Sector organizations and civil society under different political regimes and contexts: role and regulations

Moderator

• Mark Sidel, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Individual Presentations

• Contested Hegemonies: A Neo-Gramscian Perspective on the Belt and Road Initiative’s “People-to-People Connectivity” (minxin xiangtong) Pillar - Bertram Lang, University of Göttingen

• Authoritarian Learning and INGO Adaptation in China and Russia - Elizabeth Plantan, Stetson University

• The Continuing Constraints on Overseas NGOs in China - Mark Sidel, University of Wisconsin-Madison