Chinas Digital Authoritarianism

This book provides a governance perspective on Chinas digital authoritarianism by examining the political and institutional dynamics of the countrys internet sector in a historical context. Using leading theories of authoritarian institutions, it discusses Chinas 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 Chinas 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. Beijings digital authoritarian toolkit is being promoted and exported to other authoritarian regimes, making China a major driver of digital repression at the global level.