Challenged by emerging environmental activism and China’s increased involvement in international dialogue on environmental protection, scholars have called for further studies on the classic Fragmented Authoritarianism (FA) model with regard to its explanatory power on the policy process in China. This study seeks to contribute to this ongoing research by examining cases from the environmental sector. The overall aim is to provide an updated explanation on the mechanism of policy change in China through integrating the ideas of Fragmented Authoritarianism, Policy Change Windows, and Policy Entrepreneurs into the Advocacy Collation Framework (ACF).

A qualitative approach was employed to conduct this study combining extensive literature collection and review, with participant observation and in-depth interviews in the field. Cases analysed include the beginning stage of environmental protection in China in the early 1970s, and the long-term evolution of Lake Dian protection policies from 1970s to recent years. Findings from the study support: (1) the application of ACF to explain policy changes in the Chinese context; (2) the necessity to integrate FA into ACF to reveal the structural factor embedded in the relationship between the coalitions at the national and local policy subsystems.