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Why has China’s authoritarian government under Xi Jinping retained popular support without political reforms? Drawing on Chinese
social media data, in this book Titus C. Chen argues that China’s digital propaganda and information control techniques--the monopolistic
exercise of market authoritarianism--have empowered the Xi administration to manipulate public discourse and shape public opinion via
social media. Chen argues that these techniques forge a sense of community and unite the general public under the Chinese government,
thereby legitimating autocratic rule. By enhancing our understanding of China’s digital ideological statecraft, the book makes a major
contribution to the fields of China Studies and Political Communication.
Price: $161.00
Pages: 226
Publisher: Brill
Imprint: Brill
Series: China Studies
Publication Date:
02 June 2022
ISBN: 9789004519367
Format: Hardcover
"How has China’s propaganda strategy evolved in the digital era when social media and internet technology challenge the state’s monopoly on information? In his new book titled The Making of a Neo-Propaganda State, Titus Chen has provided a comprehensive review of the evolution of China’s propaganda machine and a strong argument of how it embraced the digital era to enhance the party-state’s ideological work: they utilize marketized channels to conduct propaganda works in a large and efficient manner."
- Dongshu Liu, The China Quarterly, (2023), 1-2.
"Chen quantifies posts and themes on WeChat to chart the growth and sophistication of frames that legitimize the regime and delegitimize anything contrary. This raises several questions, chief among them whether China's patriotic unity will remain strong. Since the publication of Chen's book, China's lockdowns have alienated many Chinese people. But Chen's work raises broader questions about the future of the internet. Will polarization and violence push the US to institute similar online limits? China's present sheds light on a possible future the rest of the world faces."
- M. G. Roskin, emeritus, Lycoming College
- Dongshu Liu, The China Quarterly, (2023), 1-2.
"Chen quantifies posts and themes on WeChat to chart the growth and sophistication of frames that legitimize the regime and delegitimize anything contrary. This raises several questions, chief among them whether China's patriotic unity will remain strong. Since the publication of Chen's book, China's lockdowns have alienated many Chinese people. But Chen's work raises broader questions about the future of the internet. Will polarization and violence push the US to institute similar online limits? China's present sheds light on a possible future the rest of the world faces."
- M. G. Roskin, emeritus, Lycoming College
Titus C. Chen, Ph.D. (2008), University of California-Irvine, is Associate Professor of Political Science at the National Sun Yat-sen University, Taiwan. He has published articles in leading academic journals, including Journal of Contemporary China (Taylor & Francis) and The British Journal of Politics and International Relations (SAGE Journals).