| Uncertainties and high-frequency disaster risks now characterize our society.The complexity of emergencies begets the fragility of our society.In contrast,the emergency management body is seemingly shrouded with internal problems,and each department functions in disjoint.In response to this challenge,the Ministry of Emergency Management was established in March 2018.Currently,China’s emergency management system integrates 13 related functions from 11 departments.Hence,making emergency management reform a complex project.However,China’s emergency management system(staffing and internal structures)has seen constant adjustments,especially in the past three years.Therefore,it is necessary to seize the opportunity in these institutional reforms to enrich or promote the emergency management system’s capacity while considering the influencing factors.Albeit the limitations,this paper selects a provincial emergency management department.At length,the paper seeks to provide answers to the following two research questions:(1)Is the institutional setup of the provincial emergency management department consistent with that of the ministry of emergency management?Are there any differences?(2)What are the characteristics of leaders in provincial emergency management departments?Will natural disasters and industrial accidents affect leaders’ appointments and especially directors of emergency management departments in this province?The research employs the theory of holistic governance and the theory of expert leadership as frameworks for analyzing the overall emergency management system and capabilities.The data that this research relied on mainly comes from three databases-the internal database of the emergency management department,the leadership database of the emergency management department,and lastly,the provincial natural disaster and industrial database.Using the quantitative method,the study conducts descriptive research based on the data collected from the sources mentioned above.It describes the institutional setup as well as the roles of party members and directors.In addition,a mixed method of data analysis was resorted to in order to analyze quantitatively(by logistic regression);and qualitatively compare(using fuzzy sets)related variables.It is found that with the deepening of institutional reform,the autonomy of emergency management departments is decreasing.However,in some specific areas,like Zhejiang,Liaoning,and other provinces,there still retain a certain degree of autonomy showing the characteristics of moderately autonomous institutional set up under the influence of the central government,and the trend of narrowing the differences between governments and provinces.On controlling personal characteristic variables,natural disasters and industrial safety will impact party members’ appointments.However,for the group of directors,there is no sufficient evidence that these factors influence the appointment of officials.Based on the above conclusions,this study suggests that in doing reforms in emergency management,more attention should be paid to the innovation of Party leadership and local governance,enhance the comprehensiveness and professionalism of leadership experience,and improve the integration of departments in emergency management. |
