China’s digitalised water governance and authoritarian environmentalism

Abstract

In recent years, extensive technology adoption has become a notable trend in China’s environmental governance. Although various analytical frameworks such as authoritarian environmentalism have been employed to understand China’s state-led model of environmental governance, the implications of digital technologies for local governance practices remain underexamined. This study investigates how technology adoption shapes China’s water governance at a local scale, focussing on the River Chief System (RCS) in a southern Chinese city. Our findings suggest that digital tools enhance accountability and further consolidate the top-down central-local relationship in China by promoting data-driven mo..