Deconstruction Of Cooperation:Study On The Relationship Types Between Government And Social Organizations In Social Services

In the field of social services,cooperation between governments and social organizations has become the mainstream mode of public service supply.The mainstream theories,such as social theory and new public management theory,have potential hypothesis that social organizations have natural "service ability" compared with the government.Because of the strong service function of social organizations,the government should adopt cooperative strategies for social organizations.However,in practice,the relationship between local governments and social organizations has evolved into complex types which are different from the script settings,such as "administrative capture","landscape" and "reverse substitution".In the field of social services,why does the cooperation between local government and social organizations evolve into such rich and diversified relationship types? This paper studies the relationship types between local government and social organizations in social services.Starting from an overview of the initial cooperation,this paper studies the strategic choices and action logics of the two subjects.The main research method adopted in this paper is multi-case study.Four typical cases of government purchasing services in Chongqing are selected.Each case contains the complete interaction process between local governments and social organizations in the process of providing social services.Different cases reveal different relationship types between local government and social organizations.Through the analysis of multiple cases,the deep logic of different relationship types between local government and social organizations is analyzed.Based on the extended case analysis,the study finds that:(1)Social service capability is determined by two main capabilities,namely "professional technology" and "resource mobilization",and "service resource" is an indispensable key factor for social organizations to provide professional services.Therefore,the ultimate effect of social services is limited by the professional and technical ability and resource mobilization ability of the subjects.(2)In the process of cooperation,local governments are constrained by the "performance competition" and "asylum responsibility" from social organizations.Under the multiple risks brought by cooperation,rational local governments will make strategic choices based on eliminating "performance competition" and "asylum responsibility".(3)Different strategic choices of local governments lead to different relationship types.Because the local government has a strong ability to mobilize resources and occupies the dominant position,the rational choice of local government determines the ultimate trend of the relationship between the government and social organization,forming pluralistic relationship types of cooperation,capture,restriction and substitution.This paper calls the above findings "deconstruction of cooperation",and further discusses why and how cooperation has been deconstructed.Under the background of the modernization of state governance,this paper focuses on the field of social services and service capabilities,and studies the interaction process and relationship types between local governments and social organizations from the perspective of "cooperation",which is more in line with the realistic logic of social governance innovation.This paper provides an important perspective for understanding the relationships between local governments and social organizations in the field of social services,helps to enrich and enhance the explanatory ability of the existing theory,and has guiding significance for social organizations to participate in the supply of social services.