On Policies Horizontal Linking And Its Seperation

Owing to the increasing complexity of governance issues and professional division of the government functions, policy synergism has become the basic task of policy management and an important way for governance. If the schemes and norms of policy in one area become the basis of the schemes and norms of policy in other areas, policy synergism is characterized by policy horizontal linking. There are many such distinctive policy synergism phenomena in China’s policy practice. In fact, they are not only the governance means, but also the obstruction of policy reform.However, though there many policy science literatures on ordinary policy synergism, the forming and change of highly cooperative policy horizontal linking acquire little theoretical attention. This thesis, based the point of view by policy relation and policy change, using the instructive case of the change of multi-area policy horizontal linking centered on contemporary China’s hukou policy in more than60years, examines and analyzes the forming and functions of policy horizontal linking, the cause, approach and effect of its separation, and the dilemmas of policy management and governance reflected by these.Policy horizontal linking is formed by the combined action of "strategic consensus","structural planning" and "procedural operation". Policy horizontal linking is divided into three types of simple horizontal linking, multidimensional horizontal linking and reticular horizontal linking, according to the number of involved areas and complexity of their relations. The structures of multidimensional and reticular horizontal linking are formed by the way of direct design, indirect transformation, and imitating diffusion. The function logic of policy horizontal linking is that, reducing the conduct costs between policies and effectively using the limited policy resources through the integration policy framework across areas to solve the complex public problems. that is, to combine and optimize the single policy’s basic function of distribution, redistribution and control by adjusting the policies structure, and guide them to certain policy goal.According the norms outside the original policy goal and government’s intention, policy horizontal linking can produce negative functions which distort policy’s basic function, and lead to the disequilibrium of resource distribution, excessive social control and the heterization of center policy. The negative function is the internal cause of its separation. As the development stage of the society changed, the complex public issues faced by state and government and their policy goal vary, and the function orientation of the original policy horizontal linking can not match with the new policy issues and goal. This is the outside pressure of its separation.Once policy horizontal linking as "polices matrix" formed, there is path dependence owing to two reasons:on one hand, the policy structure design across areas is highly "technical" related; on the other hand, the consistency of resources distribution priority or social control orientation by the unite policy cluster across areas can lead to interest structure’s solidification. Because of the path dependence, any policy in one area or any single policy is difficult to change, and accordingly policy horizontal linking is difficult to separate.There are two basic strategies,"revolution model by external shocks" and "internal dynamic reform model", to separate policy horizontal linking. In the case of no revolution of state fundmental institutions and avoiding turbulence of policies system,"internal dynamic reform mode" is rational choice. For the reform ways, there are three approaches of center breakthrough, peripheral separation and bidirectional reform, according to the choice of policy reform "timing sequence"(diachronic and synchronic) and the "reform point"("center" policy or "periphery" policy) in the policy horizontal linking. Center breakthrough approach includes all round reform, partial adjustment and indirect transmission three methods, and bidirectional reform approach includes replace shunt, collateral loosening, force decoupling and correct adjustment four methods.The basic features of policy horizontal linking are "technical" connection of policy design and "interest" orientation of resources distribution or social control, so the two variables infucening separation result are "tool substitution" of policy design technique and "interest obstacles" of resources distribution or social control. Depending on the three levels of "tool substitution"—strong, middle and weak, and two case of "interest obstacles"—huge and little, the results of policy horizontal linking separation are divided into complete separation, major separation, part separation, limited separation and a special "regional separation"If extending the analysis angle from policy horizontal linking to "policy relations", and from separation of policy horizontal lingking to "policy change", we can also reveal the influence of different "policy relations" to the "policy change" In the synergism relation, the exposing possibility of problem is low, and issues are many triggered by policymakers’proposition, and as a result, policy reform come to a deadlock or incremental adjustment. By contrast, in the conflict relation, the exposing possibility of problem is high, and issues are many triggered by the target groups’ initiative, and as a result, policy reform is rapid change.The separation of hukon policy horizontal linking also indicates that, during social transformation China have to bear double policy management tasks of "synergism" and "anti-synergism". On the one hand, government needs to use policy synergism to overcome policy chaos in government architecture and to resolve complex issues; on the other hand, government has created many iirational policy synergisms that need "anti-synergism" reform. The causes of those contradictions are China’s "fragmented authoritarianism" policymaking system and "policy ensemble" synergism mechanism in "campaign governance". In order to overcome this dilemma, we need to strengthen policies’"top-level design" in all areas, the scientific and strategic policy plan. However, we only necessarily adjust and reform state party-government system, focusing on cultivating ordinary governance mechanism, can fundamentally solve the problem.