In this groundbreaking new book, the authors unveil the intricate mechanisms linking the state, platform firms, and citizens in the digital governance of authoritarian states.
China's approach to digital governance has gained global influence, often evoking Orwellian 'Big Brother' comparisons. Governing Digital China challenges this perception, arguing that China's approach is radically different in practice. This book explores the logic of popular corporatism, highlighting the bottom-up influences of China's largest platform firms and its citizens.
Drawing on extensive fieldwork and nationally representative surveys, the authors track governance of social media and commercial social credit ratings during both the Hu Jintao and Xi Jinping eras. Their findings reveal how Chinese tech companies such as Tencent, Sina, Baidu, and Alibaba, have become consultants and insiders to the state, thus forming a state-company partnership. Meanwhile, citizens voluntarily produce data, incentivising platform firms to cater to their needs and motivating resistance by platforms.
The book will be presented and discussed in an online launch event, co-organized by the Centre for Digital Governance and the Institute for Data and AI at the University of Birmingham on Wednesday, 24 September, 2025.