Creating Democratic Citizens: Political Effects of the Internet in China

Date01 December 2018
Published date01 December 2018
DOI10.1177/1065912918764338
Subject MatterArticles
https://doi.org/10.1177/1065912918764338
Political Research Quarterly
2018, Vol. 71(4) 757 –771
© 2018 University of Utah
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DOI: 10.1177/1065912918764338
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Article
Despite some earlier optimism about the Internet’s roles in
undermining authoritarian rule and promoting democrati-
zation, many recent studies suggest that the actual politi-
cal impacts of the Internet have been overstated (Gunitsky
2015; Lynch 2011; Margolis and Resnick 2000; Morozov
2011). Bellin (2012), for example, argues that the contri-
bution of the Internet and new media in the Arab Spring is
only “permissive.” Moreover, she warns that the qualities
that allow social media to mobilize the mass could be
“precisely the qualities that undermine its ability to help
build the institutional foundation of a working democ-
racy” (Bellin 2012, 139). After a systematic comparison
of countries like Russia, Ukraine, Egypt, and Tunisia,
Beissinger (2017, 367) argues that the new technologies,
though have markedly lowered the threshold of collective
popular movements, tend to recruit “diverse individuals
toward the lowest common denominator of what they
oppose.” Such ad hoc negative coalitions tend to lack the
necessary democratic commitments that are required for
meaningful political changes and successful regime tran-
sitions (e.g., Gibson, Duch, and Tedin 1992; Peffley and
Rohrschneider 2003; Przeworski 1996; Svolik 2013).
Swift and massive mobilizations such as the Arab Spring
could have masked the public’s underdeveloped intrinsic
support for democratic norms and institutions.
These new developments point to two critical yet
unanswered questions about the bewildering roles of the
Internet in authoritarian societies: do people become
more committed to democratic promotions when they
are increasingly exposed to the Internet? If yes, are they
hence more likely to withdraw their support for the rul-
ing government and thus ready for political changes such
as democratization? Indeed, scholars have long noted
that the global pervasiveness of democratic norms had
caused a fundamental challenge to the legitimacy of
authoritarian regimes that collapsed during the third
wave of democratization (Huntington 1991, 47). A large
body of recent literature further suggests that citizens’
adherence to democratic principles is a key determinant
of political support in both democratic and nondemo-
cratic countries (e.g., Chu et al. 2008; Dalton 2004;
Lewis-Beck, Nadeau, and Foucault 2013; Przeworski
1996; Rose, Mishler, and Munro 2011). In particular, in
authoritarian countries where there is a lack of supply of
democratic institutions, democratically oriented citizens
are less likely to extend their support for the regime and
the government (Gibson 1996; Huhe and Tang 2017;
Wang, Dalton, and Shin 2006).
764338PRQXXX10.1177/1065912918764338Political Research QuarterlyHuhe et al.
research-article2018
1University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK
2Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, Shanghai, China
3James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA, USA
Corresponding Author:
Min Tang, Institute of Political Science, School of Public Economics
and Administration, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics,
111 Wuchuan Rd., Shanghai 200434, China.
Email: tang.min@mail.shufe.edu.cn
Creating Democratic Citizens: Political
Effects of the Internet in China
Narisong Huhe1, Min Tang2, and Jie Chen3
Abstract
This study explores the perplexing role of the Internet in authoritarian settings. We disentangle the political impact of
the Internetalong two distinct dimensions, indirect effects and direct effects. While the direct effects of the exposure
to the Internet shape political attitudes in a manifest and immediate way, the indirect effects shape various political
outcomes via instilling fundamental democratic orientations among citizens. In authoritarian societies such as China,
we argue the indirect effects of the Internet as a value changer tend to be potent, transformative, and persistent.
But the direct effects of the Internet as a mere alternative messenger are likely to be markedly contingent. Relying
on the newly developed method of causal mediation analysis and applying the method to data from a recent survey
conducted in Beijing, we find strong empirical evidence to support our argument about the two-dimensional impacts
of the Internet in authoritarian countries.
Keywords
Internet, political support, democratic values, causal mediation analysis, China

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