Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Chinese leaders initiated a multi-faceted process of reform through agricultural decollectivization, township and village enterprises, market liberalization, and international engagements. On the one hand, these reforms produced a stunning record of economic growth documented in per capita GDP, exports, and foreign capital investments. On the other hand, these reforms produced unforeseen social and political consequences such as tax riots, labor strikes, environmental, anti-corruption, and gender protests. These patterns of conflict are not just responses to the reforms but also redefine the power, authority, and reach of the state. Each pattern weaves a new state-society relationship that is transforming policymaking.
This research examines new patterns of entrepreneurship in the policy debates of the Three Gorges Project since 1986. The study documents innovations initiated by a configuration of actors outside the traditional Chinese organizational and leadership bases. The debates over "transparency in dam construction" and "consultation in resettlement programs" describe high risk entrepreneurship by redefining issues to build a support coalition inside and outside the Chinese political system. New forums develop from intellectual circles, societal-economic interests, international non-governmental organiza-tions, and popular dissent for innovation. This pattern of entrepreneurship is characterized not be a single entrepreneur but by a pooling of resources and power among social actors for innovation.
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