China¿s Digital Authoritarianism - A Governance Perspective

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.