PhD defence
Chinese nationalism in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis
- D. Zhang
- Date
- Wednesday 25 June 2025
- Time
- Location
-
Academy Building
Rapenburg 73
2311 GJ Leiden
Supervisor(s)
- Prof.dr. F.A. Schneider
- dr. Y. Huang
Summary
This dissertation investigates the evolving dynamics of Chinese nationalism in the digital era, with a particular focus on the COVID-19 pandemic as a catalyst for both top-down propaganda and bottom-up online engagement. It situates digital nationalism within the historical trajectory of Chinese state nationalism, tracing its development from the Mao and Deng eras through to its current manifestations on social media platforms. Through a multi-method approach combining computational text analysis and qualitative content analysis of Weibo posts, this study examines how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) deployed nationalist narratives during the pandemic and how internet users engaged with, amplified, or contested these narratives. Analytical chapters explore state-led propaganda on People’s Daily Weibo, the emotional dimensions of nationalist discourse, the articulation of vaccine nationalism, and the emergence of digital populist nationalism during the Red Cross scandal. Findings reveal a nuanced digital ecosystem in which nationalism is strategically mobilized by the state for legitimacy and crisis management, while also providing a vehicle for public expression, critique, and identification. Rather than a monolithic force, Chinese nationalism online is shown to be a multifaceted phenomenon shaped by both state control and popular sentiment. This study contributes to scholarship on political communication, nationalism, and digital authoritarianism by offering a comprehensive account of how digital platforms mediate the interaction between propaganda and popular participation in contemporary China.
PhD dissertations
Approximately one week after the defence, PhD dissertations by Leiden PhD students are available digitally through the Leiden Repository, that offers free access to these PhD dissertations. Please note that in some cases a dissertation may be under embargo temporarily and access to its full-text version will only be granted later.
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