UN celebrity diplomacy in China
Activism, symbolism and national ambition online
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9920865 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Saskia Postema (corresponding author), Jan Melissen (0000-0002-1312-0808) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 97 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 667-684 |
| Publication date | 2021-05-10 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Affairs (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0020-5850 • E-ISSN: 1468-2346 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/ia/iiab042 |
| OpenAlex | W3162367520 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 5 |
This article examines Chinese celebrities' UN-affiliated Weibo activism in the context of China's increasing engagement in the United Nations, which coincides with a shrinking domestic public sphere under Xi Jinping's leadership. Our article sheds light on how Chinese celebrity diplomacy is balancing contradictory expectations by the UN, the Chinese party-state and the domestic public in China. In doing so, we offer an important conceptual update of the western-centric literature on ‘celebrity diplomacy’, which focuses mostly on celebrity politics instead of diplomacy and tends to neglect the digital sphere. Based on a combined qualitative and quantitative approach, we draw fresh conclusions from nine Chinese celebrities' communication on Weibo since 2013. Our research covers the years marking China's growing self-confidence and a more assertive Chinese diplomatic style in global affairs. Although accredited by the UN, on balance Chinese celebrities' activism has become more symbolic than real, and as a rule aligned with the Chinese leadership's domestic and international ambitions. At a time of greater Chinese global activism, we are sensitive to the policy implications of Chinese celebrities' engagement on the cusp of the political and diplomatic spheres
China · Context (archaeology · Diplomacy · Media studies · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Public Diplomacy · Public sphere · Sociology · Arctic and Russian Policy Studies · Asian Culture and Media Studies · History · Island Studies and Pacific Affairs · Law
| Unique citing works | 5 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,25 |
| Citation span | 2022 - 2026 (5) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 5 |