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Microblogs and the Adaptation of the C hinese P arty‐ S tate's Governance Strategy
Author(s) -
Noesselt Nele
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
governance
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.46
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1468-0491
pISSN - 0952-1895
DOI - 10.1111/gove.12045
Subject(s) - legitimacy , microblogging , corporate governance , social media , politics , state (computer science) , authoritarianism , criticism , political science , public administration , political economy , public relations , sociology , business , law , democracy , computer science , finance , algorithm
The C hinese party‐state is currently adapting its governance strategy. The recent debate in C hina on the role of microblogs in the governance process, as documented in the reports issued by C hinese research institutes and advisory bodies, illustrates the efforts being undertaken by C hina's political elites to integrate microblogs into their new public management strategy. Mass protests and large‐scale online criticism—voiced via microblogs—directly threaten the regime's survival. As a consequence, legitimacy is no longer regarded as being inherent, but as something that has instead to be permanently regained and reaffirmed. To increase the system's efficiency and to generate a new kind of symbolic legitimacy, C hina's political elites tend to base the political decision‐making process on strategic calculations intended to be reflective of public online opinion. The turn toward a more responsive way of governing by the C hinese party‐state demonstrates once more the adaptability of authoritarian one‐party states in the digital era.