Description du projet
Un éclairage sur les microfondements de la réactivité du régime
En Chine, un pays connu pour sa remarquable réussite économique, les racines socialistes et le pouvoir durable du Parti communiste constituent un paradoxe intrigant. La clé réside dans les taux apparemment élevés de soutien public, malgré l’extrême inégalité des revenus et l’agitation sociale croissante. Les progrès rapides de la participation électronique en Chine pourraient-ils constituer le chaînon manquant? Le projet RESPONSIVENESS, financé par le CER, met en évidence les conséquences d’une participation électronique accrue en Chine. En étudiant la manière dont les dirigeants chinois intègrent les intérêts sociaux dans l’élaboration des politiques et dont ces décisions influencent la propension du public à exprimer ses demandes, RESPONSIVENESS se penche sur l’interaction complexe entre les plaintes en ligne, l’agitation sociale et les politiques publiques. Les résultats offriront des indications précieuses sur la façon dont le Parti communiste repousse l’antagonisme qui a conduit à des révolutions dans d’autres pays.
Objectif
"China’s success story of the past three decades is seen as an anomaly. Market-based reforms have generated an economic system that can hardly be described as socialist anymore, but the Communist Party of China remains in power. Although social unrest is on the rise, the CCP enjoys the consent of the overwhelming majority of its people. Most agree that China’s economic performance is the key to solving this apparent puzzle, but how can extraordinary high rates of public support be maintained in a country where income inequality is so extreme?
We believe that the answer to this question lies in the responsiveness of China’s authoritarian one-party regime to popular demands and grievances, a capability that has so far been attributed only to democratic regimes. We further believe that the rapid improvement of e-participation, the opportunity to evaluate public services on the Internet, has greatly facilitated regime responsiveness - China’s score in the United Nations e-participation index is higher than the European average. We suggest, however, that as the government increasingly calibrates public policy towards satisfying the demand of China’s netizens, the ""technologically illiterate"" are forced to express their demands in public protests and other forms of social unrest.
The proposed project sheds light on the intended and unintended consequences of enhanced e-participation in China by exploring which social interests China’s rulers incorporate into public policy making, and how these decisions influence the propensity of particular social groups to voice their demands by either participating online or taking to the streets. By exploring the “complex system” in which online complaints, social unrest and public policy interact, the project provides insights into the micro-foundations of regime responsiveness in China. It thereby increases our knowledge of how the CCP seeks to defer the antagonism that prompted the revolutions in Egypt, Tunisia and Syria."
Champ scientifique
Programme(s)
Thème(s)
Régime de financement
ERC-STG - Starting GrantInstitution d’accueil
1010 Wien
Autriche