TY - JOUR
T1 - Information Dilemmas and Blame-Avoidance Strategies
T2 - From Secrecy to Lightning Rods in Chinese Health Crises
AU - Erik, Baekkeskov
AU - Rubin, Olivier
PY - 2017/6/15
Y1 - 2017/6/15
N2 - China and other authoritarian states notoriously keep mum about disasters. Yet two recent but dissimilar Chinese responses to infectious disease epidemics show that authoritarian crisis management can shift from secrecy to openness. China maintained prolonged secrecy during 2003 SARS, yet was open from day one about 2009 H1N1 flu. To explore why, this article links crisis information dilemmas to blame avoidance concepts from democratic political theories. We argue that greater Chinese transparency about infectious disease response reflects evolution in blame avoidance, from heavy reliance on information control to insulating leaders by using technical experts and agencies as 'lightning rods.' In 2003, the Chinese strategy of information containment and secrecy backfired, and the Chinese leadership eventually received blame at home and internationally for crisis mismanagement. In 2009, China put in place public health specialists and institutions as responsible for H1N1 information and responses, thereby insulating the top-tier leadership.
AB - China and other authoritarian states notoriously keep mum about disasters. Yet two recent but dissimilar Chinese responses to infectious disease epidemics show that authoritarian crisis management can shift from secrecy to openness. China maintained prolonged secrecy during 2003 SARS, yet was open from day one about 2009 H1N1 flu. To explore why, this article links crisis information dilemmas to blame avoidance concepts from democratic political theories. We argue that greater Chinese transparency about infectious disease response reflects evolution in blame avoidance, from heavy reliance on information control to insulating leaders by using technical experts and agencies as 'lightning rods.' In 2003, the Chinese strategy of information containment and secrecy backfired, and the Chinese leadership eventually received blame at home and internationally for crisis mismanagement. In 2009, China put in place public health specialists and institutions as responsible for H1N1 information and responses, thereby insulating the top-tier leadership.
U2 - 10.1111/gove.12244
DO - 10.1111/gove.12244
M3 - Journal article
VL - 30
SP - 425
EP - 443
JO - Governance: An international journal of Policy, Administration, and Institutions
JF - Governance: An international journal of Policy, Administration, and Institutions
SN - 0952-1895
IS - 3
ER -