Shifting Dynamics of Contention in the Digital Age: Mobile Communication and Politics in China

by Jun Liu

Overview

Over the past decades, waves of political contention involving the use of information and communication technologies have swept across the globe. The phenomenon stimulates the scholarship on digital communication technologies and contentious collective action to thrive as an exciting, relevant, but highly fragmentary and contested field with disciplinary boundaries. To advance interdisciplinary understanding, Shifting Dynamics of Contention in the Digital Age outlines a communication-centered framework that articulates the intricate relationship between technology, communication, and contention. It systematically explores the influence of mobile technology on political contention in China, the country with the world's largest number of mobile and internet users. Using first-hand in-depth interview and fieldwork data, Shifting Dynamics of Contention in the Digital Age tracks the strategic choice of mobile phones as repertoires of contention, illustrates the effective mobilization of mobile communication on the basis of its strong and reciprocal social ties, and identifies the communicative practice of forwarding officially alleged "rumors" as a form of everyday resistance. Through this groundbreaking study, Shifting Dynamics of Contention in the Digital Age presents a nuanced portrayal of an emerging dynamics of contention--both its strengths and limitations- through the embedding of mobile communication into Chinese society and politics.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780190887292
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	06/22/2020
Series:	Studies in Mobile Communication
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	240
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Jun Liu, Associate Professor in the Department of Communication, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. Jun Liu is Associate Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. His research covers political sociology and communication technologies and publishes in the fields of communication, sociology, political science, and computer science. He has won several awards from The Information Technology and Politics Section of American Political Science Association, the International Communication Association's Mobile Communication Interest Group and the International Communication Association Mobile Preconference.

Table of Contents

Preface 1. Introduction: Movements in Communication 2. Toward a Synthetic Framework 3. From Affordances to Repertoires of Contention 4. More Than Words 5. "To Retweet Each and Every Rumor:" Mobile rumoring as contention 6. Conclusion: Beyond China, Moving Mobile Appendix: Methodological Reflections Bibliography

Editorial Reviews

"a compelling study, and a powerful argument" — Florian Schneider, China Quarterly

"In this excellent book, Jun Liu advocates a communication-centered perspective that highlights how communication in various forms, be it face-to-face, mass communication, or networked communication, may permeate diferent phases of contention and shape the dynamics of contentious politics. With impressive frst-hand feldwork and interview data collected in a period of over 10 years (roughly 20032013), Liu fleshes out his point by systematically examining the infuence of communication,especially mobile communication, on political contention as it unfolds.... The book is an important work with solidempirical findings and theoretical contributions. Scholars interested in communication studies, contentious politics, and China studies will find it particularly useful." — Rongbin Han, Journal of Chinese Political Science

"With cases of collective contentions in China, [Liu] explores how communication practices shape political opportunities, mobilise structure, and frame processes that structure collective contentions." — Jun Zhang, Journal of Contemporary Asia

"Jun Liu takes an original approach in this strong contribution to understanding the role of communication in contemporary Chinese politics. Rich empirical discussions bring together different strands of scholarship to elucidate the bigger picture and create a framework that has previously been left mostly implicit." — Elisa Oreglia, King's College London

From the Publisher