Environmental degradation in China has not only brought a wider range of diseases and other health consequences than previously understood, it has also taken a heavy toll on Chinese society, the economy, and the legitimacy of the party-state. Professor Huang presents new evidence of China’s deepening health crisis and challenges the widespread view that China is winning the war on pollution. Although government leaders are learning, stricter and more centralized policy enforcement measures have not been able to substantially reduce pollution or improve public health. Huang connects this failure to pathologies inherent in the institutional structure of the Chinese party-state, which embeds conflicting incentives for officials and limits the capacity of the state to deliver public goods. Professor Huang examines the implications for China’s future, both domestically and internationally.
Yanzhong Huang joined the School of Diplomacy and International Relations in the fall of 2003. He directs the School’s Center for Global Health Studies, which examines global health issues from a foreign policy and security perspective.
Professor Huang is also Senior Fellow in Global Health at the Council on Foreign Relations.
Initiated in 2016, this annual series showcases CEAS faculty, alumni, and special guests who provide author talks and book launches as a way to engage the broader community in conversations regarding key scholarship on East Asia.
This event is co-sponsored with the Seminary Co-op Bookstores and the Contemporary China Series.