This book provides a governance perspective on China’s digital authoritarianism by examining the political and institutional dynamics of the country’s internet sector in a historical context. Using leading theories of authoritarian institutions, it discusses China’s approach to the internet and methods of implementation in terms of party-state institutions and policy processes. This provides a much-needed ‘inside out’ perspective on digital authoritarianism that avoids the perception of China as some coherent and static monolith. The study also offers a powerful rationale for China’s cyber sovereignty as an externalisation of its domestic internet governance framework and broader political-economic context. As China shifts from rule-taker to rule-maker in world politics, the Chinese Dream (zhongguo meng) is now going global. Beijing’s digital authoritarian toolkit is being promoted and exported to other authoritarian regimes, making China a major driver of digital repression at the global level.
Monique Taylor is University Lecturer in World Politics at the University of Helsinki, Finland.
This book provides a governance perspective on China’s digital authoritarianism by examining the political and institutional dynamics of the country’s internet sector in a historical context. Using leading theories of authoritarian institutions, it discusses China’s approach to the internet and methods of implementation in terms of party-state institutions and policy processes. This provides a much-needed ‘inside out’ perspective on digital authoritarianism that avoids the perception of China as some coherent and static monolith. The study also offers a powerful rationale for China’s cyber sovereignty as an externalisation of its domestic internet governance framework and broader political-economic context. As China shifts from rule-taker to rule-maker in world politics, the Chinese Dream (zhongguo meng) is now going global. Beijing’s digital authoritarian toolkit is being promoted and exported to other authoritarian regimes, making China a major driver of digital repression at the global level.
Offers a novel perspective on Chinese internet governance Adopts a state-centric perspective in analyzing China’s endeavor to create digital authoritarianism Adds an international dimension to studying Chinese internet governance
Monique Taylor
Chinese Politics Internet Governance Political Economy Authoritarianism New Institutionalism Cyber Sovereignty Censorship Internet in China Post-reform China Cyberspace in China Great Firewall of China Cyber Policy in China
“China’s desire for leadership in the global and regional space attracts close attention of the international community to any internal problems in China, provoking their use for political purposes. … The analysis of the historical, theoretical, normative and empirical base of the study allowed the author of the book to consider digital authoritarianism … . As a result, the book formulates and systematizes the factors that characterize this model in its development, influencing the current state of Chinese constitutionalism.” (Vache Kalashyan, Journal of Political Science - Bulletin of Yerevan University, Vol. 2 (1), 2023)