The impact of China's "ecological civilisation" principle on China's management of transboundary rivers in the region.

My PhD thesis would address the question: How has the Chinese leadership's commitment to the principle of "ecological civilisation" influenced China's approach to transboundary river management? I propose to study the years 2012-2022 using a comparative analysis of three transboundary rivers that flow through China, as outlined in the Methods section below. My aim would be to develop a rigorous definition of "ecological civilisation"; discover whether "ecological civilisation" is reflected in the Chinese management of and discourse around transboundary rivers, as well as the dynamics of interaction between different levels of governance, including regional governance; and evaluate whether patterns can be observed across different river basins when different river states are involved.



The originality of the thesis would lie in bringing together China's "ecological civilisation" and its management of and discourses around transboundary rivers. "Ecological civilisation" (shengtai wenming) is a Chinese concept which can be traced back to a term referred to in Scientific Communism in the former Soviet Union in 1984.1 It gradually entered the political sphere in the mid-2000s and was enshrined as a Chinese constitutional commitment in 2018. It is China's plan for sustainable development2 and includes an aspiration to lead the advancement of ecological civilisation at the international level.3 The concept remains poorly understood and understudied outside of China. A rigorous definition that could be applied across different cases has yet to be developed, and the role of the principle in Chinese foreign policies is not clear. My PhD thesis would contribute to debates about what the Chinese government means by "ecological civilisation", how it shapes Chinese foreign policies and discourses, and how it can create incentives for different stakeholders within and outside China.



Beyond its specific contribution to the literature on "ecological civilisation", my PhD thesis would increase our understanding of the challenges of reconciling environmental and development goals in China. At the regional level, it would show how Chinese norms shape China's relations with its neighbours, as well as the distribution of resources and governance more generally. It also has global relevance, as China's "ecological civilisation" - which shapes its approach to energy infrastructure investments and growing role as an environmental power - will be a key part of China's rise in the 21st century. Beyond the field of Chinese Studies, it would contribute to the literature on norms in international politics, and the significance and responsibilities of great powers in international environmental politics. Finally, it would build on existing theoretical frameworks that seek to explain hydropolitics to develop a novel framework to analyse actors' interactions in the context of transboundary rivers. Further studies in these fields could build on the contributions of my thesis, for example by applying the concept of "ecological civilisation" to another policy area, comparing the dynamics of "Western" and non-Western norms, and applying the insights of the revised hydropolitics framework outside the Chinese context.