Nationalism and Identity in China

Session Submission Type: Full Paper Panel

Session Description

The papers in this panel examine the relationship between identity and support for authoritarianism in China. Tianguang Meng and Zhongbin Huang’s paper applies social identity theory to help conceptualize and measure expressions of Chinese national identity using social media data, while Jonathan Hassid’s paper investigates the process by which subnational identities are constructed in both China and the United States. The other two papers in this panel explore how nationalism is intertwined with performance legitimacy as a source of support for the regime. Karrie Koesel’s study uses the politics section of the college entrance examination to explore how the Party’s efforts to construct national identity have changed over time, while Teresa Wright argues that the Party has been able to leverage its economic and social accomplishments to encourage its citizens to accept authoritarianism. Taken together, these papers shed new light into the mechanisms of authoritarian resilience under Xi Jinping.

Sub Unit

• Division 13: Politics of Communist and Former Communist Countries

Individual Presentations

• The Political Economy of National Identity: Evidence from Chinese Social Media - Tianguang Meng, Tsinghua University; Zhongbin Huang, Tsinghua University

• Comparing Subnational Identity in China and the USA - Jonathan Hassid, Iowa State University

• Accomplished Authoritarians: Legitimacy & Resilience in Contemporary China - Karrie J. Koesel, University of Notre Dame

• Still Accepting Authoritarianism in China? - Teresa Wright, California State University, Long Beach; XueYing Hu, University of California, San Diego

Chair

• Xiao Ma Peking University

Discussant

• Jason Yuyan Wu Indiana University