China’s digital governance has provoked concerns from observers that the government has fully embraced the direction of “Big Brother” envisioned by George Orwell in 1984. Governing Digital China, a forthcoming book by Professor Daniela Stockmann (Hertie School) challenges this totalitarian top-down paradigm, arguing that China’s digital governance is radically different in practice.
Columbia World Projects, with support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, is pleased to invite you to this conversation between Professor Junyan Jiang (Columbia) and Stockmann, which will dig into the divide between perceptions and realities of digital governance during the Hu Jintao and Xi Jinping eras. Together, they will explore the logic of citizen-influenced corporatism, the bottom-up influences of the country’s largest platforms, and whether the existing linkages between the Chinese state, tech companies, and citizens neatly map on to digital rulemaking beyond China’s borders.
This event is co-sponsored by the Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia Global Center Beijing, and the Columbia Center for Political Economy. It is free and open to the public. We welcome all those with an interest in digital governance and democratic revitalization to attend. Refreshments will be served.
