JCC — pp. 1-16 2026-04-08 Original China’s Quasi-Mediation Diplomacy in the Middle East in the 21st Century
Mordechai Chaziza
Abstract
This study examines China’s quasi-mediation diplomacy in the Middle East as a limited form of conflict management. Rather than viewing mediation as dispute resolution, quasi-mediation is framed as a strategy for China to engage regionally while minimizing political and reputational risk. Through cases such as the 2023 Saudi-Iran rapprochement and China’s involvement in the Israel-Palestine conflict, the article argues that quasi-mediation allows China to signal responsible power, manage regional instability, and expand its diplomatic visibility, without taking on coercive leverage or implementation. The analysis reveals that China’s efforts are more about reputational signaling and risk management than conflict resolution. Ultimately, quasi-mediation reflects China’s global ambitions and the constraints of its non-interference policy in a multipolar world.
JCC — pp. 1-18 2026-04-05 Original The Political Economy of Local Government Debt Expansion in China
Pan Liu, Jie Mao, Min Dai
Abstract
Since the 1990s, China has strengthened the Communist Party of China’s leadership over local People’s Congresses through a dual-appointment system, under which Party secretaries also serve as chairpersons of People’s Congresses. This article argues that this system enhances Party influence over legislative decision-making while further reducing institutional constraints, enabling local Party secretaries to pursue career-oriented agendas such as borrowing for infrastructure to boost economic growth. Under a growth-first development paradigm, this arrangement has fueled the rapid expansion of local government debt. Overall, these findings offer a political economy explanation for the dynamics of local government debt in China, and underscore the importance of stronger legal and institutional constraints on the dual-appointment system to mitigate local fiscal risks.
PMR — pp. 1-34 2026-04-05 Original Serving the public or checking boxes? Exploring motivations for overcompliance in policy implementation
Xue Gao, Quanfeng Shu, Hongtao Yi
Abstract
Policy implementation research has examined why street-level bureaucrats do not comply with higher-level directives; however, it has paid far less attention to why they overcomply and what this means for policy outcomes. This study addresses this gap by theorizing two competing drivers of overcompliance and analysing China’s national Solar Photovoltaic for Poverty Alleviation Program. We find that formalism is positively associated with overcompliance, while the effect of public-interest commitment is conditional on formalism. The results advance research on policy implementation and public service motivation by showing how intrinsic motivation and organizational norms interact to shape overcompliance and influence policy outcomes.
PMR — pp. 1-31 2026-04-03 Original Exploring the role of citizen-to-citizen (C2C) interactions in enhancing e-participation: a social capital perspective
Mingxi Zhou, Luning Liu, Yuqiang Feng
PMR — pp. 1-28 2026-04-02 Original The interplay of resource integration and value orientation in public services value creation: a case study of residential parking reform in China
WP 78/2 pp. 377-418 2026-04-01 Original Rightful Challengers: How Chinese Criminal Defense Lawyers Encourage Judge-Prosecutor Disagreement
Yue Hou, Jieun Kim
Abstract
abstract: In autocracies, courts are often perceived as tools of the autocrats, with lawyers viewed as lacking influence. The authors reassess these assumptions by examining criminal defense lawyers as "rightful challengers" within China's legal system. Analyzing an original data set of drug cases in Chinese criminal courts from 2014 through 2018, the authors find that when a lawyer is present, judges are three times more likely to reject prosecutors' arguments and twice as likely to deviate from prosecutors' sentencing recommendations. The deviation on average results in sentences that are shorter than the prosecutor's recommendation—shorter by more than two months in addition to the already shorter sentences judges give compared to prosecutors' recommendations. These findings suggest that lawyers can exert a substantial impact on judicial decisions by encouraging judge-prosecutor disagreement, particularly in cases that are less politically sensitive. Original interviews and close examination of lawyers' arguments reveal that the quality of defense is crucial for understanding lawyers' effectiveness in influencing court decisions. These results highlight how seemingly powerless societal actors, such as lawyers, can act as rightful challengers to powerful state actors within authoritarian regimes.
CQ 266 pp. 435-452 2026-03-30 Original Political Satire and the Decline of Discourse Quality: Evidence from China’s Online Public Sphere
CQ 265 pp. 201-217 2026-03-26 Original Multilevel Diaspora Governance: A Case Study of a New Qiaoxiang County in China
Na Ren, Sitong Long
Abstract
Abstract Since China’s open-door policy and “going-out” strategy gained momentum in the 21st century, several new qiaoxiang 侨乡 (“hometowns” of overseas Chinese) have emerged. The launch of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2013 has further increased Chinese transnational mobility and the interactions between overseas Chinese communities and their places of origin. This study takes Shaodong city in Hunan province as a case study to explain the driving forces behind the formation of a newly emerging qiaoxiang from political and socio-economic perspectives. It proposes that multilayered transnational network governance is a significant model for qiaoxiang in diaspora engagement. Using a rescaling approach, this study argues that diaspora governance relies not only on the primordial ties of locality, kinship and ethnicity that new emigrants maintain with their hometowns but is also dynamically shaped by pluralized qiaoxiang governmental networks at various levels, including provincial, municipal and county. These networks are constructed by the diaspora through both vertical and horizontal structures. Theoretically, this study transcends the traditional paradigm of centralized and singular diaspora governance at national or subnational levels, contributing to the understanding of the multilevel structures of diaspora governance from decentralized and pluralized perspectives.
CQ 266 pp. 470-480 2026-03-26 Original China’s Internal Security Spending: An Assessment of New Data
Sheena Chestnut Greitens
Abstract
Abstract Internal security has been a governance priority under Xi Jinping. How does China’s budget reflect this prioritization? This research report presents updated data on China’s internal security spending, 1992–2022, revealing a mix of continuity and change. Domestic security expenditure continues to rise, more than doubling from 2012 to 2022, but has risen mostly in proportion to the People’s Republic of China’s overall expenditure. The balance between central and local expenditure has shifted further towards local spending, which, in the context of rising local fiscal constraint, may increase pressure on local public security bureaus. The Ministry of Public Security continues to receive the largest share of domestic security spending, while the proportion of internal security spending allocated to the People’s Armed Police (PAP) has decreased, probably reflecting the reorganization of the PAP in 2017–2018. Spending per capita and relative to GDP continues to be higher in locations that are politically sensitive, including Beijing, Tibet and Xinjiang.
CQ 266 pp. 345-364 2026-03-24 Original Explaining China’s High Welfare Spending: Local Models and Drivers of Fiscally Oriented Affordable Housing