School of Social and Political Sciences - Theses
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ItemManaging the globalisation of ideas: propaganda, power, and cohesion in Chinese domestic and international politics( 2012)As China becomes more engaged with the outside world through the process of globalisation, the party-state actively attempts to use domestic and foreign policies to manage China’s global interactions in ways that work to its advantage. The party-state manages the transnational exchange of information and ideas using the practices associated with its propaganda system. This simultaneously occurs within China and internationally, as the party-state uses both domestic and foreign propaganda practices in order to maximise the benefits and minimise the risks of this aspect of globalisation. This thesis investigates the relationship between the party-state’s use of propaganda practices to manage the forces of globalisation within the country and its use of such practices at the international level. It does so in order to generate a better understanding of how China’s domestic political system, and especially the power practices embedded in that system, shapes the way that China engages with the rest of the world. This thesis argues that the party-state’s desire for political and social unity and cohesion within China, combined with the specific way in which it exercises power through the use of propaganda practices at the domestic level, fundamentally shapes how it uses propaganda practices to try to increase China’s global influence. The party-state’s emphasis on the importance of national cohesion means that foreign propaganda practices involve the party-state exercising power not only to influence the views of international actors but also to discipline the discourse that Chinese actors articulate internationally. The party-state sees the generation of domestic cohesion using propaganda practices as a necessary prerequisite to China’s international rise. Its strategic approach to foreign propaganda involves increasing the variety of Chinese voices that are available to foreign audiences, as long as they maintain propaganda discipline and do not challenge the official discourse. When it comes to practical propaganda responses to domestic and international challenges the party-state is primarily concerned with establishing and defending an official “truth” around which it can unite Chinese public opinion, even when this stokes anti-foreign nationalism. The ability of Chinese actors to articulate a discourse to overseas audiences is thereby limited by the party-state’s focus on the use of propaganda practices to consolidate political consensus at home.