Citizen interactions with Chinese government networks: Information technology, institutions, and agency

Min Jiang, Purdue University

Abstract

The prospect of China's Internet development and democratization cannot be separated from the role played by the Chinese government in provincial life and citizens' everyday experiences. Nor can the design, use, implementation, and configuration of information and communication technologies (ICTs) be separated from its complex sociopolitical environment. Contrary to popular discourse that casts the Internet as the ultimate change agent or the Chinese government as the ultimate censor, a major impetus of this research project has been the study of the duality of Chinese government networks that can both control and enable citizens' participation in the country's political processes. Giddens' (1984) theory of structuration and Orlirkowksi's (1992) theory of the duality of technology are adopted as theoretical frameworks to examine the interactions among information technology, institutions, and human agency in Chinese government networks. These theories not only help articulate the relations among the various actors but also help debunk the false dichotomy between government control and civic participation. The components of information technology, institutions, and agency are contextualized as provincial government portals, provincial governments, and local citizens' online actions in the spaces of Chinese government networks. To explore the interactions among these elements are embedded in China's unique sociopolitical circumstances, a series of studies were conducted. By utilizing online feature analysis, the first study focuses on online structures, features that relay information or provides Chinese citizens a space to act. The second study explores the potential of government online forums as sites of public deliberation through a combination of quantitative content analysis, qualitative thematic analysis, and critical discourse analysis. The proposal for online interviews with forum participants is also discussed as a potential for future research. The first study reveals a complex range of online structures for citizens to engage in public affairs. Currently provincial government websites appear to be better at delivering information and collecting public opinions than encouraging civic discussion or incorporating public opinions into decision-making processes. Nevertheless, there is a great deal of potential for these provincial government websites to further engage citizens in local political processes and continue to hold local governments more accountable. The second study shows that government online forums are fascinating spaces for politically active citizens to engage in public discourses. The government's tendency to control political discourses exists alongside the citizens' challenge to authority and their desire to pursue social justice. These government online forums are fertile grounds for China's future online public deliberation. Overall, this research project contributes to an ongoing debate and dialogue about the role of information and communication technologies in political and civic transformations. Unlike previous research on Chinese government networks that emphasizes its capacity of surveillance and control, this research project finds that government networks, as rules and resources, enable and constrain the government's as well as the citizens' actions simultaneously. There is a complex array of applications and activities on the networks that cannot be simply reduced to government containment of civic actions as citizens utilize online features to challenge authorities and seek social justice. The tendency to simplify the interactions among information technology, government institutions, and civic activities without attention to the ongoing civic activities and government's subtle institutional changes is counter-productive to finding possible routes to political reforms in the neo-authoritarian regime. The research locates the various impetuses for democratic social change through a more nuanced survey of the terrain of Chinese government networks. This research project also contributes methodologically to the current body of literature on government information systems and Chinese online politics. The research instruments in two of my studies can be used to evaluate the quality of various online features on government websites for civic participation and the quality of online public deliberations based on web discussion forums. Additionally, the research project advocates the use of a combination of research methods to capture interactions on government networks. In particular, the second study introduces using both quantitative content analysis and qualitative textual analysis to examine the quality of public deliberation on a provincial government discussion forum. My research argues that political participation in China can be both bottom-up and top-down. Institutional changes do not have to choose between the two but rather require creative measures that facilitate citizens' participation in local and national affairs from both ends. Further, the source of change does not come from technology though it may facilitate change. Change, after all, stems from people, charismatic leaders and active citizens alike, whose collective actions and determination make a difference.

Degree

Ph.D.

Advisors

Dutta, Purdue University.

Subject Area

Communication|Public administration

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