Social Media Geopolitics

The "Unofficial Geopolitics" of Chinese Vloggers in Pakistan

Bibliographic Data

ID3948696
AuthorsDavide Giacomo Zoppolato (0000-0001-8026-3908, West Virginia University, corresponding author), Karen Culcasi (0000-0003-2576-9644, West Virginia University)
Year2025
Volume31
Issue1
Pages1-21
Publication date2025-05-12
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueGeopolitics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1465-0045 • E-ISSN: 1557-3028
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/14650045.2025.2499133
OpenAlexW4410306087
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited54

Chinese nationals living temporarily in Pakistan have produced and posted thousands of widely viewed and popular videos on Douyin, a China-exclusive video-sharing app owned by the same company behind the international social media app TikTok. Many of these videos are of the Chinese vloggers’ friendly and casual interactions with Pakistani locals. These interactions seem random and apolitical, but, in actuality, the videos are highly curated and replete with official Chinese state geopolitical discourses that highlight China’s ability to develop Pakistan and improve the lives of Pakistanis. While there are many ways that people on social media engage in geopolitical production, the vloggers in our case study are recycling official geopolitical discourses in their own personalised style, which we refer to as ‘unofficial geopolitics’. In this paper, we examine Douyin videos to illustrate the recycling of official discourses on social media, but we also stress how social media users, who are outside of traditional circles of power, engage with geopolitical discourses in ways that were not possible a decade ago. Considering the reach and influence of social media, the commonality of geopolitical topics being circulated within, and the ability of nearly anyone with a phone and an internet connection to participate, we see a great opportunity for critical geopolitics to develop new theories, concepts, and methods to examine social media geopolitics

Geopolitics · Media studies · Political science · Politics · Social media · Sociology · Diaspora, migration, transnational identity · Hong Kong and Taiwan Politics · Law · Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East

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