Unpacking policy termination: A multi-factor analysis of industrial project termination near Wanshouyan, China

Policy termination, as a part of the policy process, is a vulnerable component in practice and a long-neglected issue in policy science research. This study focuses on policy termination and constructs an analytical framework of “characteristics-environment-institution-actors” to conduct a case study of industrial project termination near the Wanshouyan prehistoric site in China. It compares the two phases evident during the past half century. This study discusses the factors influencing policy termination by analyzing why Wanshouyan's first phase industrial projects succeeded in their termination, while those in the second phase failed. This study argues that policy termination is subject to the collective influence of multiple variables, encompassing the inherent characteristics of the policy, environmental factors, institutional factors, and actors. Furthermore, political potential energy is crucial in driving termination through the superimposed effect of multi-variable factors.