Reciprocal Engagement and NGO Policy Influence on the Local State in China

Abstract

While existing literature has conceptualized the multiple, complex ways in which NGOs might relate to the state, it has paid limited attention to how NGO–government collaboration leads to NGO policy influence. This study examines small, indigenous grassroots NGOs and their interactions with the local state in China. Using a grounded theory approach, we find that the aspiration for both NGOs and the local state is to establish reciprocal engagement, which consists of three dimensions—proximity and communication, mutual support, and joint action. We explain how reciprocal engagement might lead to NGO policy influence: (a) shaping government departments’ internal work methods, (b) facilitating policy implementation, and (c) influencing policy revision. We further define the boundary conditions for the reciprocal engagement and policy influence framework by examining how regions, administrative agencies, and evolving political climate affect the engagement–influence relationship. Our study provides a more nuanced understanding of the dynamics of NGO–government relations in China and of non-contentious methods of policy influence from the grassroots.