The Performative State

What does the state do when public expectations exceed its governing capacity? The Performative State shows how the state can shape public perceptions and defuse crises through the theatrical deployment of language, symbols, and gestures of good governance-performative governance.

Iza Ding unpacks the black box of street-level bureaucracy in China through ethnographic participation, in-depth interviews, and public opinion surveys. She demonstrates in vivid detail how China's environmental bureaucrats deal with intense public scrutiny over pollution when they lack the authority to actually improve the physical environment. They assuage public outrage by appearing responsive, benevolent, and humble. But performative governance is hard work. Environmental bureaucrats paradoxically work themselves to exhaustion even when they cannot effectively implement environmental policies. Instead of achieving "performance legitimacy" by delivering material improvements, the state can shape public opinion through the theatrical performance of goodwill and sincere effort.

The Performative State also explains when performative governance fails at impressing its audience and when governance becomes less performative and more substantive. Ding focuses on Chinese evidence but her theory travels: comparisons with Vietnam and the United States show that all states, democratic and authoritarian alike, engage in performative governance.

[T]his is a brilliantly written book, which combines perceptively observed vignettes of the routine lives of street-level bureaucrats and citizens with thought-provoking theoretical assertions and debates in order to expose the gap between what China's bureaucrats say they do and what they actually do. It will be of great interest to a wide range of students and researchers.

This book sets out to answer this fundamental question. Ding examinesenvironmental governance and applies the metaphor of "performative governance' to characterise the practices of China's environmental bureaucrats. She observes apparently hard-working officials who are held accountable for resolving environmental problems yet have 'little control over either making environmental policies or fixing environmental damage', in a setting wherein 'economic growth still relies on many polluting industries and energy-intensive consumption'

Overall, this well-written book is an outstanding contribution to the literature on bureaucracy, Chinese politics, and environmental governance. Building on Max Weber's classical theory of bureaucracy, Ding provides an elegant and fresh perspective on the motives and behaviour of street-level bureaucrats.

Iza Ding is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Pittsburgh. Follow her on X @izading.

What does the state do when public expectations exceed its governing capacity? The Performative State shows how the state can shape public perceptions and defuse crises through the theatrical deployment of language, symbols, and gestures of good governance--performative governance. Iza Ding unpacks the black box of street-level bureaucracy in China through ethnographic participation, in-depth interviews, and public opinion surveys. She demonstrates with vivid detail how China's environmental bureaucrats deal with intense public scrutiny over pollution when they lack the authority to actually improve the physical environment. Bureaucrats assuage public outrage by appearing responsive, benevolent, and humble before citizens. But performative governance is hard work. Environmental bureaucrats paradoxically work themselves to exhaustion even when they cannot effectively implement environmental policies. Instead of achieving "performance legitimacy" by delivering material improvements, the state can shape public opinion through the theatrical performance of goodwill and sincere effort. The Performative State also explains when performative governance fails at impressing its audience, and when governance becomes less performative and more substantive. Ding focuses on Chinese evidence but her theory travels: cross-country comparisons with Vietnam and the US show that all states, democratic and authoritarian alike, engage in performative governance.

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.