Description
Book SynopsisRongbin Han offers a powerful counterintuitive explanation for China’s survival in the digital age. Han reveals how the state, service providers, and netizens negotiate the limits of discourse, interrogating our assumptions about authoritarian resilience and the internet's democratizing power.
Trade ReviewIf you are looking for that long-awaited book on China’s Internet censorship, look no further. Rongbin Han’s
Contesting Cyberspace in China illuminates the labyrinths of that proverbial cat-and-mouse game with clarity and sophistication. It will be a thought-provoking and rewarding read. -- Guobin Yang, University of Pennsylvania
How has the Internet changed state-society relations in China? How have social groups engaged in a “guerrilla war” with the authorities over cyberspace? And how is the Internet remaking China? In this empirically rich work, Rongbin Han has provided us with a vivid analysis of the interactions between the state and society in China’s cyberspace. Those who are interested in cyber affairs must read this brilliant book. -- Zheng Yongnian, National University of Singapore
Contesting Cyberspace in China goes beyond the typical fascination with Chinese censorship and internet controls. It investigates the ways in which social media and online expression are pluralizing political debate in China, giving ample room for fiery nationalists and indignant leftists to attack the regime’s liberal critics. The book is an excellent study of the diversity, drama, and defiance of China’s netizens. -- Mary E. Gallagher, University of Michigan
Han provides a well-written and comprehensive study on Internet censorship and online discourse in China and breaks down the assumption that the Internet is inherently regime challenging. -- John James Kennedy * Journal of Asian Studies *
An excellent addition to the burgeoning literature on the political consequences of the internet in China. * Contemporary Sociology *
Well-written, nuanced and full of insightful analysis. * East Asian Journal of Popular Culture *
Makes significant theoretic and empirical contributions to the literatures on authoritarianism and Chinese politics. * Perspectives on Politics *
Table of ContentsPreface
1. Introduction: Pluralism and Cyberpolitics in China
2. Harmonizing the Internet: State Control Over Online Expression
3. To Comply or to Resist? The Intermediaries’ Dilemma
4. Pop Activism: Playful Netizens in Cyberpolitics
5. Trolling for the Party: State-Sponsored Internet Commentators
6. Manufacturing Distrust: Online Political Opposition and Its Backlash
7. Defending the Regime: The “Voluntary Fifty-Cent Army”
8. Authoritarian Resilience Online: Mismatched Capacity, Miscalculated Threat
Appendix
Notes
Bibliography
Index
