Resource Dependence and the Question of Autonomy in Environmental NGOs: Cases in China and the US

Studies of social organizations in the People’s Republic of China during the reform period emphasized their limited power and dependent nature, particularly when compared to the US, where associational life is generally understood as relatively independent from the state. More recently China scholars have found greater variation and complexity among social organizations in China and while others increasingly recognize hybridity in American and European organizations. There are, however, few studies comparing the NPO sector and its relationship with the state across regime types. Using resource dependence theory as a lens through which to examine the behaviors and development of two environmental protection organizations, one from China and one from the US, we identify similarities among social organizations operating in very different political and social contexts. Highly specialized organizations, with access to alternative resources can maintain an unexpected level of autonomy, even when the larger institutional context limits and controls associational life.