China's University Think Tanks for Ethnic Studies in the New Era:Functional Orientations,Dilemmas,and Pathways
The functional targets of university think tanks for ethnic studies in China are to deep-en research of consolidating the sense of communi-ty for the Chinese nation and promote high-quality development of ethnic work in the new era of Chi-na.The think tanks'first function orientation is to encourage the construction of a disciplinary sys-tem,an academic system,and a discourse system of Chinese ethnology,pursuing a uniquely Chinese paradigm,plan,and pathway for addressing Chi-nese ethnic problems.Secondly,in response to strategic imperatives and practical policy require-ments of the party and the state,these think tanks focus on the theory and practical implementation of ethnic development and security concerns and seek to conduct high-quality policy analysis in order to provide decision-making advisory services on eth-nic issues.Thirdly,these university-based think tanks offer academic support for the Party's ethnic work,aiming to facilitate the modernization of the governance system,enhance the operational capac-ity of ethnic affairs,and promote the construction of community for the Chinese nation.This paper,furthermore,identifies four main dilemmas in the construction of university think tanks for ethnic studies:Firstly,a structural con-flict between academic research objectives and the practical outputs expected from think tank research is a conceptual dilemma in the construction of uni-versity think tanks for ethnic studies.Secondly,a conflict between the administrative management of universities and the needs of socialized manage-ment of think-tank is the management dilemma in the construction of university think tanks for ethnic studies.Thirdly,this challenge is about functional positioning;it revolves around defining and clarif-ying the distinct roles and functions of universities vis-à-vis their affiliated think tanks for ethnic stud-ies.The fourth dilemma is a rank evaluation di-lemma:It concerns balancing the recognition of think tanks'achievements with the evaluation of professional titles in the construction of the univer-sity think tanks for ethnic studies.This paper proposes three strategic pathways for the construction of university think tanks for ethnic studies:The first one is to eliminate the cognitive bias towards the decision-making consul-tancy report,which requires popularizing the knowledge about think tanks and integrating mem-bers of academic groups into think tank member-ships,enhancing the translation of academic re-search results into decision-making reports,balan-cing the management thinking to equally value aca-demic research and think tank research,and the building of the specialized administrative teams to support think tank operations.The second solution is to improve institutional support mechanisms for the construction of university think tanks,which would require establishing and improving guarantee mechanisms for undertaking research tasks for par-ty and governmental institutions,improving the as-sessment criteria for think tank achievements,and advancing incentive structures to foster research ex-cellence.The third solution would be to establish and enhance the mechanism for talent exchange and cooperation among think tanks.This would re-quire adopting a new approach for personnel man-agement in think tanks,breaking down disciplinary barriers to cultivate interdisciplinary expertise,and improving the"revolving door"mechanism for Chinese think tanks.In addition,it is also deemed necessary to establish and enhance a standard mechanism for exchanges and cooperation among think tanks,seeking to enhance their engagement in global issues,potentially constructing effective discourse systems among Chinese think tanks as well as building policy communication channels for positive interaction between the government and the public.
university think tanks for ethnic studiesconsolidating the sense of community for the Chinese nationdilemmasmechanism
NETL
NSTL
万方数据
