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Abstract
Most studies on social policy research in China have followed the logic of methodological and theoretical nationalism. However, increased communication across borders and the trend of internationalization in the domain of social policy have challenged uniquely nationalistic narratives. The emergence of studies on global social policy has contributed to constructing an international arena of social policy within which the interplay of various international and supranational actors has exerted considerable influence on agenda setting and the conceptual frameworks of national social policy. However, such a theoretical approach has been neglected in both Chinese and international academia. This essay connects to the research on global social policy and elaborates an independent communication field transcending the scope of state-centered social policy. Through analyzing three social policy fields—old age pension schemes, work accident insurance and social assistance scheme since the reform and open-door policy—the author constructs an interaction and communication arena strongly shaped by international semantics and narratives. Epistemological globalization assumes that national knowledge reserves and structures are increasingly shaped by the flow of ideas across nation-state borders.
Acknowledgements
This article stems from the research project “Dynamics of Chinese Social Policy: The Interplay of National and International Influences”, led by Tobias ten Brink and Tao Liu. The project is part of the new Collaborative Research Center (SFB) 1342 “Global Dynamics of Social Policy” at the University of Bremen, funded by the German Research Foundation DFG (see www.socialpolicydynamics.de). I also thank the two anonymous reviewers who helped to improve the article considerably.
Disclosure statement
The author reports no conflicts of interest. The author alone is responsible for the content and writing of this article.
Notes
Notes
1 Rogers, Diffusion of Innovations.
2 Rogers and Cartano, “Methods of Measuring Opinion Leadership,” 435–441.
3 Gray, “Innovation in the States,” 1174–1185.
4 Haas, Saving the Mediterranean; Haas and Haas, “Learning to Learn,” 255–285.
5 Sabatier, “Political Science and Public Policy,” 144–147; Jenkins-Smith and Sabatier, The Advocacy Coalition Framework.
6 Dobbin, Simmons, and Garrett, “The Global Diffusion of Public Policies,” 449–472; Simmons, Dobbin and Garett (Eds.), The Global Diffusion of Markets and Democracy.
7 Bennett and Howlett, “The Lessons of Learning,” 275–294.
8 Deacon, Global Social Policy; Deacon, Global Social Policy and Governance.
9 World Bank, Averting the Old Age Crisis.
10 Orenstein, Privatizing Pensions.
11 Deacon, Global Social Policy.
12 Leisering, “Editorial zum Schwerpunktheft ‘Globale Sozialpolitik’,” 143–150.
13 For the discussion of the globalization of sport and science, see Heintz and Werron, “Wie ist Globalisierung möglich?,” 359–394.
14 The major exceptions include the studies and publications by Hu, “The Global Spread of Neoliberalism and China’s Pension Reform Since 1978,” 609–638; Hu and Manning, “The Global Social Insurance Movement Since the 1880s,” 125–148; Liu, Globale Wissensdiffusion in der Politik sozialer Sicherung.
15 De Mesa and Mesa Lago, “The Structural Pension Reform in Chile,” 149–167.
16 Orenstein, Privatizing Pensions; Hu and Manning, “The Global Social Insurance Movement Since the 1880s,” 125–148.
17 Hu, “The Global Spread of Neoliberalism and China's Pension Reform Since 1978,” 609–638.
18 Liu, Die Reform der Alterssicherung in der VR China.
19 Deng, From Labor Insurance to Social Insurance.
20 For the engagement of the Cato Institute on the global pension reform, see also Cato policy report “Cato Conference: Global Pension Reform in Inevitable”; download under https://www.cato.org/policy-report/mayjune-2000/cato-conference-global-pension-reform-inevitable.
21 See note 18 above.
22 Zhou and Zhang, Towards a Society with Social Protection for All.
23 Deng, From Labor Insurance to Social Insurance.
24 Liu, “Occupational Safety and Health as a Global Challenge,” 50–63.
25 The predecessor of the MHRSS was the Ministry of Labour and Social Security (MLSS).
26 See note 24 above.
27 Chen, Work Accident Insurance.
28 In German: Berufsgenossenschaften.
29 Download under http://www.cnss.cn/gjjl/qqsblw/201512/t20151213_981.htm.
30 Liu, Globale Wissensdiffusion in der Politik sozialer Sicherung.
31 Liu and Sun, “Urban Social Assistance in China,” 29–51.
32 Guo, “Evaluation of the Conditional Cash Transfer Plan from Brazil and Mexico,” 37–42.
33 Jones, Brown, and Bradshaw, Issues in Social Policy.
34 Tang, Report on Poverty and Anti-Poverty in Urban China.
35 Liu, “Intellectual Origins of the Chinese Minimum Living Standard System.”
36 Eardley et al., Social Assistance in OECD Countries.
37 Guan, “Globalization, Inequality and Social Policy,” 242–257.
38 Obinger and Petersen, “Mass Warfare and the Welfare State–Causal Mechanisms and Effects,” 203–227.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Tao Liu
Tao Liu is Professor of Comparative Sociology and Chinese Society at the Institute of East Asian Studies and at the Institute of Sociology in the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany. He has published articles on accident insurance, social assistance, elderly care, and old age social security in China.