Author Description

Popular protests are on the rise in China. However, since protesters rely on existing channels of participation and on patronage by elite backers, the state has been able to stymie attempts to generalize resistance, and no large-scale political movements have significantly challenged party rule. Yet the Chinese state is not monolithic. Decentralization has increased the power of local authorities, creating space for policy innovations and opening up the political opportunity structure. Popular protest in China - particularly in the urban realm - not only benefits from the political fragmentation of the state, but also from the political communications revolution, The question of haw and to what extent the internet can be used for mobilizing popular resistance in China is hotly debated. The government, virtual social organizations, and individual netizens both cooperate and compete with each other on the web. New media both increases the scope of the mobilizers and the mobilized (thereby creating new social capital), and provides the government with new means of social control (thereby limiting the political impact of the growing social capital). This volume is the first of its kind to assess the ways in which new media can influence the mobilization of popular resistance and its possible effects in China today. This edited book offers readers a fascinating story of bow Chinese citizens use new social media to engage with political matters and activism. It provides a thorough analysis of Chinese internet activism by providing a new set of data and several rich, detailed case studies. It is a must-read book for anyone who wants to understand urban mobilization, popular protests and new social media in contemporary China. I strongly recommend it as a textbook for graduate courses on Chinese politics, social movements and new media politics. Book jacket.