Yuzong Chen

Thesis

Taming the nine dragons at the local level: How China's River Chief System changes the Tiao- Kuai authority relations in the local government water/river management?

River Chief System (RCS) is China's recent water/river management approach. RCS assigns the major water management responsibility of the local rivers and water sections to the local head officials instead of distributing the responsibilities to different departments. This research aims to deconstruct China's new Tiao-Kaui authority relations in China's local government and understand the removal mechanism of institutional barriers in local government through the lens of the river chief system. By doing this, the thesis focuses on the implementation of river chief system at multiple scales --- from the county level down to the town-level government. My research will answer how are the "nine-dragons" and "Tiao-Kuai" relationship barriers in China's local water/river management changed by the introduction of RCS.