Social media and policy change: the Chinese government’s strategic policy responsiveness during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

We know surprisingly little about when and how governments respond with policy change to the public’s opinions expressed on social media. Even studies of autocracies like China – the focus of much social media research – have concentrated on single cases or events. This article, based on a mixed method analysis of Chinese social media and policy datasets for the first four months of the COVID-19 pandemic, is the first to explore in depth when and how the public’s attention to an issue on social media can influence policy. We show that the government did sometimes respond with a change in policy to an issue of high relative salience on social media. Through qualitative comparative analysis of policy change cases, we find that change was more likely when it aligned with existing policies or priorities, was narrowly targeted, low cost and required little bureaucratic coordination. Government policy responsiveness exists in authoritarian contexts but is strategic.

Rights

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Cite as

Downloadable citations

Identifiers

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1177/00323217251345776

Repository URI

https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/355078/