Understanding Paradigm Shifts and Asynchrony in Environmental Governance: A Mixed-Methods-Study of China’s Sustainable Development Transition

Lin Qu, Jiwei Shi, Zhijian Yu and Cunkuan Bao ()
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Lin Qu: Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China
Jiwei Shi: Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China
Zhijian Yu: Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, University of Göttingen, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
Cunkuan Bao: Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China

World, 2025, vol. 6, issue 3, 1-0

Abstract: Escalating environmental challenges severely impede global sustainable development, prompting countries worldwide to innovate environmental governance approaches. As the world’s largest developing country, China’s paradigm shifts in environmental governance from “pollution control” to “ecological conservation” embody many inherent complexities. To investigate the evolution and underlying logic of such paradigm shifts, this study introduces a nested asynchrony framework. Employing a mixed-methods approach that integrates qualitative content analysis, Social Network Analysis, and machine learning, this study analyzes China’s environmental planning documents since the 11th Five-Year Plan to clarify the process of the paradigm shifts and their driving mechanisms. The principal conclusions derived from this study are as follows: (1) Environmental planning is uniquely valued as an analytical lens for identifying paradigm shifts in environmental governance. (2) The paradigm shifts in environmental governance are temporally distinct, wherein transformations in value norms precede structural reforms, while shifts in action logic and disciplinary foundations exhibit path-dependent inertia. (3) Inconsistencies within the planning authority framework spanning central and local governments impede the effective allocation and implementation of resources. This study reconstructs the transformation pathway of environmental governance paradigms, validates computational methods in policy analysis, and presents a longitudinal framework for tracking governance evolution. Applicable to other countries or sectors undergoing similar sustainable development transitions, the framework can provide broader utility.

Keywords: environmental governance; environmental planning; paradigm shift; sustainable development; mixed methods (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: G15 G17 G18 L21 L22 L25 L26 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 R51 R52 R58 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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