Basic information about the project
Recently, experts from the China Social Sciences Press have selected 22 "2021 Excellent Publishing Achievements/Annual Good Books" among nearly 1,700 monographs published in 2021, including 2 "Special Contribution Awards", 10 "Excellent Publishing Achievements" and 10 "Annual Good Books". Professor Chen Guoquan of Zhejiang University presided over the national social science foundation major project (18VSJ052) the result "Functional Decentralization: China's Exploration" was selected as one of the "Excellent Publishing Achievements".
General Secretary Xi Jinping once said: "Self-supervision is a worldwide problem, and it is the Goldbach conjecture of national governance. In the past 30 years, Professor Chen Guoquan's team at Zhejiang University has been engaged in the research of power constraint supervision, and has initially constructed the "functional decentralization theory" with the support of three major projects of the National Social Science Fund, in order to explain many power phenomena with Chinese characteristics, crack the "Goldbach conjecture" of China's national governance, and improve the socialist supervision system with Chinese characteristics. The book "Functional Decentralization: Exploration of China" is the research result of the third major project of the National Social Science Foundation chaired by Professor Chen Guoquan, and is called "Functional Decentralization Theory Research Trilogy" together with the monographs "Theory of Power Constraint and Supervision" (won the third prize of the Ministry of Education's Outstanding Achievements in Humanities and Social Sciences) and "The Rule of Law of Power and Integrity Governance" (won the first prize of Zhejiang Provincial Philosophy and Social Science Outstanding Achievements). The learning power platform and the Xinhuanet client have published articles to promote this book many times, and the relevant results of this book have been published in journals such as Sociological Research, Xinhua Digest, Zhejiang Social Science, Academic Monthly, and China Social Science Daily.
The main academic points of the book
First, the academic concept of "functional decentralization" is proposed, and its theoretical logic is expounded in depth. The division of power is a requirement for the complexity of national governance, but there are great differences in the form of division of power in different countries. The political decentralization of power in the form of "separation of powers" is the basic feature of the political system of Western countries represented by the United States, and the mainland has denied the applicability of political decentralization to China in both political practice and academic exploration. In the past ten years, the political construction of the party and the state has been exploring a power division system suitable for China's national conditions, that is, establishing and improving the power structure and operating mechanism of decision-making power, execution power and supervision power that both restrict and coordinate with each other. The internal logic of functional decentralization is: from the functional division of labor based on organizational effectiveness to the functional configuration of organizational responsibilities to the functional empowerment based on organizational goals, that is, the division of labor→ the division of functions→ the separation of responsibilities→ the separation of powers. The mainland's economic foundation with public ownership as the main body determines the government responsibility for the preservation and appreciation of public assets, that is, the basic form of government. There is a requirement for the government to take precedence over constraints, thus forming a functional decentralization based on the logic of division of labor.
Second, it describes and explains the dual objectives of the functional decentralized system and the mechanisms for its realization. The dual objectives of functional decentralization are to ensure the efficiency of the operation of public power and to prevent the abuse of arbitrary power. In terms of ensuring the efficiency of the operation of public power, centralization, decentralization and efficiency do not conflict, but the premise is to distinguish between the types of power and the links in the operation of power. Specifically, the centralization and unification of political power can not only ensure the stability of the environment in which power operates, but also ensure the unity of objectives, the concentration of forces, and the effectiveness of decision-making, so as to improve the efficiency of the operation of public power; in addition, the separation of powers between decision-making power, executive power, and supervision power is conducive to decomposing complicated public affairs and operating public power in a professional and scientific manner; and multiple coordination mechanisms are established on the basis of separation to avoid the loss of operational efficiency caused by fragmentation of power separation. In terms of preventing the abuse of arbitrary power by public power, the separation of powers and supervision has a positive effect, and the cross-cutting relationship between the division of labor and power can effectively compress the space for arbitrary abuse of power. Therefore, it is necessary to rationally allocate mechanisms and systems of centralization and decentralization, restraint and coordination, so as to achieve the dual goal.
Third, it proposes and explains the control model of "strong supervision and weak constraint" in contemporary China. Starting from the general theory of power constraints, the method of control can be divided into restrictive control and supervision and control. The power of restraint and control and the right of supervision and control are different in terms of the state of power, the status of the subject, the direction of power, the principle of control and the position of role, and there are also differences in the external institutional conditions required for the effectiveness of the two control mechanisms. Judging from the difference between restraint and supervision, contemporary China has actually formed a control model of "strong supervision - weak restriction". This model is compatible with the current economic and political structure. In terms of economic form, the control model of "strong supervision and weak constraint" is based on the economic basis of public ownership as the main body, that is, the asset management behavior of public power under the public ownership of means of production, the production logic of public goods and the centralized allocation of public power. In addition, the "strong supervision-weak constraint" model of control is also endogenous to the political structure of contemporary China, that is, the overall broad government and functional power allocation. From the perspective of the modernization of national governance, it is necessary to rebalance between restraint and supervision through the idea of integrated integration to enhance the scientificity and effectiveness of the party and state supervision system.
Fourth, it is proposed to build a functional decentralized power system based on the rule of law. The rule of law of power is embedded in state governance and is governed by the deep logic of state governance. Therefore, the power rule of law system in the Chinese context must focus on the institutional characteristics and governance logic of national governance, and explore the Chinese path of power restraint and supervision by constructing and improving a balanced functional decentralization system. Specifically, it is necessary to optimize the structural form and power relationship between decision-making power, enforcement power and supervision power, establish and improve the list of rights and responsibilities and negative lists for decision-making, implementation and supervision, clarify the boundaries of rights and responsibilities, improve the system of open handling of affairs, establish a procedural constraint mechanism, improve the level of rule of law in the power constraint system, pay attention to supervision coordination, and enhance the supervision synergy and supervision effectiveness of various supervision forces.
In addition, this book also puts forward original academic concepts such as generalized government, the paradox of rule of law, and the three-fold governance logic of local government, and explains them in depth.
Profile of the project leader
Chen Guoquan, Doctor of Law, Qiushi Distinguished Professor (Scientific Research Post) of Zhejiang University, Dual Doctoral Supervisor of School of Public Administration and Guanghua Law School, has long been engaged in the research of contemporary Chinese government and politics, power constraint supervision, and published more than 100 academic papers in journals such as Sociological Research, Political Science Research, and Xinhua Digest. He is the director of the China Local Government Innovation Research Center of Zhejiang University, the honorary dean of the School of Public Administration of Zhejiang Gongshang University, the researcher of the China Political Science Research Center of Peking University, the distinguished researcher of the National Institute of Institutions of Zhejiang University, and the chief expert of the Integrity Research Center of Zhejiang University. Won the title of "Young and Middle-Aged Experts with Outstanding Contributions in Zhejiang Province" and "Tang Lixin Teaching Famous Teacher Award of Zhejiang University". He has presided over the major projects of the National Social Science Foundation of China three times, and his research results have won the second and third prizes of the Ministry of Education for Outstanding Achievements in Humanities and Social Sciences and the first prize for Outstanding Achievements in Philosophy and Social Sciences of Zhejiang Province.