Social Sciences in China (Chinese Edition)

No. 6, 2025

Localized Governance and the Modernization of Social Governance in China

(Abstract)

Tang Bin and Wang Puqu

Within China’s state-led social governance framework, “l(fā)ocalization” has long constituted the fundamental spatial logic of social governance, with localized governance as its practical form. The modernization of social governance in contemporary China is largely reflected in the institutional adaptation of localized governance. This adaptation involves incorporating elements of modern governance to respond to individualized, pluralized, and mobile governance contexts. It has produced a compound governance system characterized by “state-society integration,” featuring locally embedded collaborative mechanisms such as multi-tier responsiveness, multi-agent co-governance, and vertical intergovernmental coordination. Together, these mechanisms offer innovative, locally grounded solutions to core social governance challenges, including meeting citizens’ needs, optimizing governance structures, and adjusting hierarchical relations. This demonstrates an organic unity between historical continuity and contemporary innovation. However, “l(fā)ocalized governance” also contains inherent tensions between its jurisdiction-based construction logic and the demands of networked development. This tension may lead to a substitution effect, where vertical hierarchical governance displaces horizontal co-governance, thus limiting the further development of social self-organization. To address this, it is essential to align with the network logic of social governance by repositioning localized governance within the broader governance landscape. This requires shifting the spatial logic from locality dependence toward locality transcendence and effectively balancing three key governance orientations: “l(fā)ocal primacy” versus “network centrality,” “structural orientation” versus “problem-driven approach,” and “organizational scaffolding” versus “digital enablement.” Achieving this balance will realize the logical coherence necessary to advance the modernization of social governance.