Whataboutism and Chinese Public Attitudes on Foreign Policy

• In Event: Public Attitudes on China

Abstract

This study investigates whether whataboutism, a common defensive strategy in international relations, impacts the domestic population of the country employing it. Whataboutism occurs when countries criticized or sanctioned for certain actions or particular behaviours deflect by accusing the critic of similar misconduct or hypocrisy. Despite widespread recognition of whataboutism among policymakers and journalists, its strategic logic and influence on domestic audiences of the countries that engage in it have not been systematically explored in the academic literature. Our paper addresses this gap by using survey experiments conducted in China to investigate the extent to which whataboutism boosts domestic public support for the government

Authors

• Wilfred Ming Chow, University of Hong Kong

• Dov H. Levin, University of Hong Kong