Discourse Power: China's Tactics for Building Rival Global Institutions

• In Event: Reshaping the Liberal Order: Strategies of Contestation and Change

Abstract

How does China attract followers for shifts in international order? Traditional international relations theory expects a rising power to use material power. However, this article, rooted in a study of China's strategy, introduces a novel perspective: the significance of “discourse power” in shaping support for competitive institutions. Using social movement theory, alongside analysis of China’s rhetoric, I develop a typology of messaging strategies that China uses to mobilize support. I theorize that messaging allows China to build coalitions that support China’s international organization, the World Internet Conference, over a traditional institution grounded in a “multistakeholder" collaboration, the Internet Governance Forum. Through a mixed-methods approach analyzing attendance at China’s World Internet Conference and an elite experiment with cyber diplomats, this article finds that China's message of cyber sovereignty is a narrative that allows China to mobilize support for changes from the status quo. As China finds its voice, this research suggests that opportunities for change in other liberal issue areas beyond cyber governance can arise.

Author

• Rachel A Hulvey, University of Pennsylvania