China's Digital Authoritarianism: A Governance Perspective

ISBN-13: 9783031112515 / Angielski / Twarda / 2022

Monique Taylor

Opis

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. 

Spis treści

1. Building Digital Authoritarianism: From the Great Firewall to the New IP.- 2.  Authoritarian Governance and China’s Party-Centric Model.- 3.  Internet Governance during the Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao Eras.- 4. Digital Authoritarianism in the Xi Jinping Era.- 5. A Party-Led Internet Economy.- 6. China’s Digital Authoritarianism Goes Global.- 7. Conclusion.

O autorze

Monique Taylor is University Lecturer in World Politics at the University of Helsinki, Finland.

Blurb

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.