Knowledge Regimes in Mainland China, Japan and Taiwan: A Comparison

• In Event: 066 - Section on Political Sociology Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 04. The Politics of Knowledge

Abstract

Drawing on Campbell and Pedersen’s recent concept of “knowledge regime”, this paper attempts to compare and contrast the structure, ecology and logics of the institutional field for policy research as well as policy idea production in three East Asian developmental polities, i.e., Mainland China (since 1990s), Japan (1950-80s) and Taiwan (1960-90s). The aims of this project are two folds: first to map out the nuanced differences of three national (regional) policy knowledge regimes, than to explain the difference by a constellation of political and economic factors, both domestically and internationally. It has been concluded that China forged an excessively competitive, multi-layered knowledge regime, while Japan and Taiwan were characterized by bureaucratic dominance and heavy US presence respectively. The projects will contribute to the existing theoretical as well as empirical debates in at least ways: the extension and important revision to knowledge regime studies; the relationship between policy outcome and policy production institutions; the past and future of developmental state in terms of its policy research infrastructure.

Author

• Jing Li, Fudan University