Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

This article suggests that a lack of meaningful collaboration between the state and NGOs in China is not solely a result of the state seeking to restrict the development of the sector, or fear of a potential opposing actor to the state. Instead, interviews with NGOs in Beijing and Shanghai suggests that a lack of meaningful engagement between the state and NGOs can be partially attributed to isomorphic pressures within state-NGO relations, and insufficient epistemic awareness of NGO activities on the part of the state. In fact, the evidence suggests that once epistemic awareness is achieved by the state, they …