Social Sciences in China (Chinese Edition)

No.5, 2018

 

The Separation of Powers and Responsibilities and Avoidance of Responsibility at the Grass-roots Level: A Theoretical Explanation

 (Abstract)

 

Ni Xing and Wang Rui

 

The emergence and proliferation of avoidance of responsibilities at the grass-roots level has had a systemic impact on public governance. In explaining the inner logic of this phenomenon through a “structure-risk-behavior” analytical framework, we found that grass-roots governments’ present structural arrangements for the separation of powers and responsibilities not only fail to effectively resist and resolve external systemic risk, but also become the root cause of internal non-systemic risk. Consequently, faced with a sharp rise in risks associated with uncertainty, inequality and proliferation, grass-roots administrators are avoiding direct and potential liabilities by adopting a portfolio strategy specifically expressed in prior and post hoc vertical and horizontal strategies. Practice has proved that avoidance of responsibility has serious consequences for grass-roots governments, including a lack of innovation, dissipation of authority and passive responses. This triggers chain reactions and hinders the sound development of politics, the economy and society. To re-energize grass-roots innovation and vitality, therefore, it is imperative to further deepen the reform of administrative systems and organs, establish crisis management and dynamic risk control mechanisms, and achieve a dynamic balance between incentives and constraints.