Science and the nation-state: What China's experience reveals about the role of policy in science.

This article examines China's rapid development of world-class science and technology capacity despite lacking features commonly associated with scientific growth, such as democratic governance, academic freedom, civil liberties, and free-market principles. It identifies three key state policies—protection of intellectual property, encouragement of mobility and skills development, and government procurement, especially military-related—that have created conditions enabling China's scientific emergence. Using an interactionist model, the article argues that modern science arises from complex interactions between policy, social factors, and experimental practice, rather than solely from political liberalization or openness. China's experience challenges prevailing theories linking science growth to democracy and suggests a need to reconsider science policy frameworks to account for diverse political and institutional contexts.