Who are the people? Populists’ articulation of “the people” in contemporary China

Datos Bibliográficos

ID21790232
AutoresKun He (0009-0007-8415-3686, University of Groningen, autor de correspondencia), Scott A Eldridge (0000-0002-2184-1509, University of Groningen), Marcel Broersma (0000-0002-7342-3472, University of Groningen)
Año2023
Volumen16
Número3
Páginas267-284
Fecha de publicación2023-07-03
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaChinese Journal of Communication (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1754-4769 • E-ISSN: 1754-4750
EditorialInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/17544750.2023.2183970
OpenAlexW4323256692
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas6
Referencias citadas25

Discerning what populists mean by the people is crucial for understanding populism. However, the appeals populists make to the people differ across political systems, with distinctions particularly evident between democratic contexts and one-party states such as China. Articulations of the people in Chinese populist communication remain underexplored, which is a gap this paper addresses by clarifying how the people is constructed in the discourses that underpin Chinese populism. A total of 61 populism cases were examined through discourse and meta-analyses, from which three manifestations of the people emerged. First, the Chinese nation serves as an ideological glue to mobilize people to protest against those seen as betraying their Chinese identity or violating the sovereignty and dignity of China. Second, the mass is associated with an affective aversion to scientists and experts, but also with mass support for a satirical subculture that challenges the hegemony of elite-dominated cultural production and cultural institutions. Finally, socially vulnerable groups assemble powerless people in situations of economic impoverishment, political marginalization, and social vulnerability. The analysis reveals how these three conceptualizations of the people drive online Chinese bottom-up populism, allowing netizens to serve as mediators and pitting the people against corrupt elites and the establishment

China · Elite · Ideology · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Populism · Sociology · Gender Studies · Hong Kong and Taiwan Politics · Law · Music History and Culture · Populism, Right-Wing Movements