The Pliant Public
Ideology and Public Opinion in China
Examining the disconnect between ideology and the ordinary Chinese citizens
Description
The Chinese Communist Party has long depended on ideology to set the agenda, communicate its priorities, and legitimize its rule. The Pliant Public argues that for Chinese citizens, however, ideology is in short supply. Surveys show that public opinion is depolarized. Ordinary people have little sense of what ideological labels like “left” and “right” mean, and most of the people who put themselves on the right have the scale backwards. Since a depolarized public is ill-equipped to check the state, China’s leaders can make massive changes to government policy without triggering much backlash.
But depolarization does not always strengthen the state. When citizens lack clear ideological commitments, it is easier for them to set aside their differences. If China’s leaders lost their performance legitimacy, then depolarization could facilitate a broader challenge to party rule.
Jason Y. Wu is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Indiana University.
Reviews
“The Pliant Public is an ambitious and empirically rich examination of political ideology and public opinion in contemporary China. The core insight—that a depolarized citizenry may inhibit political mobilization and bolster regime stability—is both timely and important, especially in the context of China’s increasingly sophisticated authoritarianism.”
- Rory Truex, Princeton University
“In this fascinating study, Jason Wu presents a striking finding: although China’s state-run media and official policy pronouncements are dominated by ideology, the Chinese general public isn’t very ideological, not even able to place themselves on a left-right continuum. Whereas many democracies are increasingly polarized, Wu argues that China is de-polarized. This will be essential reading for anyone interested in Chinese politics and state-society relations.”
- Bruce Dickson, George Washington University