可接受的问责:地方官员为何“铤而走险”?——基于棚户区改造中政府强拆案例分析

Acceptable Accountability: Why Do Local Officials Take Risks?——Case Study on Forced Demolition in Slum Reconstruction in China

敢于冒险、作风强硬的地方领导是推动棘手工作的关键,但这一行为模式是否与党和国家强化问责的发展取向存在张力?既有研究指出,尽管存在问责风险,上下级权力关系、资源-任务配置模式、避责或庇护行为等因素仍推动下级官员的冒险行为。本研究在结构视角和行动者视角基础上,提出重视问责制度的弹性特性对官员冒险行为的关键作用,在结构、行动者与制度互相关联和支撑的综合框架下解释官员冒险行为。基于对棚户区改造中一个政府强拆案例的过程分析发现,官员冒险行为是由国家主导的官员考评权力关系、弹性问责制度提供的行动空间、个体性的关系和意义建构共同塑造的结果,使冒险成为一种可接受的选择。官员冒险行为"解决"了发展过程中的地方难点问题,但也蕴含着权责失衡、利益冲突的风险。"可接受的问责"作为实现有效治理的关键,也提出了"对谁有效"的问题。

Local leaders who dare to take risks and have tough-styles are the key to deal with difficult tasks,but does this pattern have tension with the development orientation of strengthening accountability?Existing studies have pointed out that despite the risk of accountability,factors such as power relations between superiors and subordinates,resource-task allocation and blame avoidance or asylum behavior still promote risk-taking behavior of lower-level officials.Based on the structural perspective and the actor perspective,this paper puts forward the key role of the flexibility of the accountability systems for officials’risk-taking behavior and explains the official risk-taking behavior under the comprehensive framework of structure,action and system.Based on the analysis of the process of a case of government forced demolition in slum reconstruction,this study finds that officials’risk-taking behavior is jointly shaped by state-led officials’evaluation relations,elastic accountability systems and individual construction of relationships and meaning.The result of mutual support makes adventure an acceptable choice.The risky behavior of officials"resolved"the local difficulties in the development process,but it also contains the risk of imbalance of power and conflict between responsibility and interest.As the key to effective governance,"acceptable accountability"raises the question of"to whom is effective".