New Books in World Affairs

Frances Yaping Wang, "The Art of State Persuasion: China's Strategic Use of Media in Interstate Disputes" (Oxford UP, 2024)

Apr 8, 2025

Frances Yaping Wang, an Assistant Professor at Colgate University and peace scholar at the Minerva United States Institute of Peace, dives into China's strategic media manipulation in interstate disputes. She discusses why nations highlight certain disputes and the dynamics between public sentiment and state policy. Wang explains 'mobilization' and 'pacification' campaigns, revealing how the Chinese government manages public perception amid nationalism. Her insights offer a keen look at the interplay of propaganda, public opinion, and global media strategies.

24:38

Episode guests

Frances Yaping Wang

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Quick takeaways

China strategically employs state media to manage public opinion and foreign relations during territorial disputes, influencing both domestic and international responses.

The concept of pacifying propaganda illustrates how authoritarian states like China maintain stability by downplaying aggressive policies while echoing nationalism in media narratives.

Deep dives

The Role of Media in Territorial Conflicts

Media coverage plays a crucial role in the dynamics of territorial conflicts, particularly in terms of their salience and public perception. Authoritarian states, like China, often utilize media campaigns to either highlight or downplay disputes, which can significantly influence domestic and international reactions. An example discussed is the South China Sea, where aggressive media portrayals were later followed by diplomatic gestures towards the Philippines, illustrating the state’s strategic manipulation of public narratives. This highlights the complexity of how media serves not just to inform, but to shape the political landscape by managing public opinion and foreign relations.

Intro

2min

Strategic Media Campaigns in International Disputes

5min

Navigating Research Challenges in China

7min

Manipulating Nationalist Emotions

7min

Exploring Authoritarianism and Global Media Strategies

3min

Why do nations actively publicize previously overlooked disputes? And why does this domestic mobilization sometimes fail to result in aggressive policy measures?

The Art of State Persuasion (Oxford UP, 2024) delves into China's strategic use of state propaganda during crucial crisis events, particularly focusing on border disputes. Frances Wang aims to explain the diverse strategies employed in Chinese state media, analyzing why certain disputes are amplified while others are downplayed. This variation, as proposed, is contingent on the degree of alignment between Chinese state policy and public opinion. When public sentiment is more moderate than the state's foreign policy objectives, the government initiates a "mobilization campaign." Conversely, if public opinion is more hawkish than state policy, the authorities deploy a "pacification campaign" to mollify public sentiment.

Through a comprehensive examination of medium-N and case-study analyses, Wang elucidates these arguments. The research incorporates extensive textual analyses of media reports, interviews with officials and journalists, and archival data. The book also illuminates the mechanics of mobilization and pacification media campaigns, enabling policy makers to distinguish varying state foreign policy intentions. This book not only acknowledges the significance of public opinion but also illustrates how fluctuating public sentiment is delicately managed by the state through diverse discursive tactics. By highlighting the existence and relevance of pacification campaigns, The Art of State Persuasion enhances our understanding of propaganda, and challenges the traditional view of China's propaganda as uniformly aggressive, bringing to light a more nuanced picture especially in the domain of foreign policy.

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New Books in World Affairs

Frances Yaping Wang, "The Art of State Persuasion: China's Strategic Use of Media in Interstate Disputes" (Oxford UP, 2024)

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

The Role of Media in Territorial Conflicts

Pacifying Rather than Mobilizing

Understanding Public Opinion in Authoritarian Regimes

Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts