The Rise of Non-Governmental Disaster Relief in China

Abstract

This paper explores the emergence of a highly networked and capable non-governmental organization (NGO) community in disaster relief in China. It provides a review of the growth of non-governmental actors in the relief field since the 2000s, and examines the most important platforms and networks in the field, focusing on their strategies of maintaining a broad-based partnership, developing self-capacity, and enhancing the overall interorganizational connectivity. With an in-depth look at one of the most successful joint nongovernmental relief operations in Lushan in 2013, the paper also explicates how NGOs can break down state monopoly over disaster information management, public donation and relief operation. This research finds that during crisis times, non-governmental actors carry out relief missions effectively in parallel with state agencies. The rise of non-governmental disaster relief sheds light on one of many trajectories of civil society development in China where social autonomy is earned by innovation, public support and improved self-capacity.