25 July 2015
- RSIS
- Publication
- External Publications
- Web 2.0 and Political Engagement in China
Web 2.0 and Political Engagement in China
This article examines civic and political engagement in contemporary China by three recent cases where activists and citizens take full advantage of interactive information technologies and Web 2.0 tools to overcome obstacles and mobilize for public goods. The cases show how activists act strategically to mobilize mass-based support and use various technologies to ensure monetary transaction, resource allocation, public monitoring, and large-scale inter-organizational coordination. In addition, they also demonstrate how ordinary Chinese citizens take part in innovative civic initiatives, act upon their own decisions, and eventually contribute to the change of a failed policy and the solution to a public problem. Different forms of online mass political engagement have introduced new dynamism to public affairs in China, enhanced social autonomy, and thus can have accumulative impact on the asymmetric power relationship between the authoritarian state and society.
Fengshi Wu and Shen Yang. 2015. "Web 2.0 and Political Engagement in China". VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations. 28 July 2015. 10.1007/s11266-015-9627-6
This article examines civic and political engagement in contemporary China by three recent cases where activists and citizens take full advantage of interactive information technologies and Web 2.0 tools to overcome obstacles and mobilize for public goods. The cases show how activists act strategically to mobilize mass-based support and use various technologies to ensure monetary transaction, resource allocation, public monitoring, and large-scale inter-organizational coordination. In addition, they also demonstrate how ordinary Chinese citizens take part in innovative civic initiatives, act upon their own decisions, and eventually contribute to the change of a failed policy and the solution to a public problem. Different forms of online mass political engagement have introduced new dynamism to public affairs in China, enhanced social autonomy, and thus can have accumulative impact on the asymmetric power relationship between the authoritarian state and society.
Fengshi Wu and Shen Yang. 2015. "Web 2.0 and Political Engagement in China". VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations. 28 July 2015. 10.1007/s11266-015-9627-6
