Orchestrating Regime: A Comparative Analysis of Policies for Tackling Wicked Problems

The increasing complexity of social systems has given rise to numerous wicked problems that must be addressed urgently by developing effective governance arrangements. Through its unique governance model, China has partially managed to cope with these wicked problems, but the underlying mechanisms of this coping remain underexplored. This study combines theories of orchestration governance and policy regime to develop an analytical framework. Using the maximum variation case study method, targeted poverty alleviation and COVID-19 prevention and control are taken as cases to examine the strategies and mechanisms China has used in addressing wicked problems. China’s model is defined as an “orchestrating regime”, in which orchestrators use both directive and facilitative steering mechanisms to construct and implement policy regime elements, thereby achieving unity and coordination within the system. This study extends existing policy regime theory by providing insights into the interactions and function mechanisms of regime elements, and it also offers a novel theoretical lens for examining models of governance of wicked problems.