Left, Right, Middle Kingdom: Ideology in China – Jennifer Pan & Yiqing Xu

Scholars Jennifer Pan & Yiqing Xu discussed their paper on “China’s Ideological Spectrum,” which has generated widespread acclaim and discussion. They analyzed data from an opinion survey of more than half a million Chinese citizens, and find that public preferences in ideology are not simply split along a pro-regime or anti-regime divide in authoritarian contexts. The paper can be accessed via: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2593377

Jennifer Pan is an Assistant Professor of Communication at Stanford University. Her research examines the strategies authoritarian regimes employ to perpetuate their rule, including censorship, redistribution, and responsiveness, using large-scale data from traditional and digital media as well as experiments on media platforms. She received her Ph.D. from Harvard University’s Department of Government.

Yiqing Xu is an Assistant Professor at Department of Political Science here at UC San Diego, and a faculty member of the 21st Century China Center. He works on political methodology and political economy, with a special focus on development and institutions in authoritarian countries. He received his PhD from MIT.

This episode was recorded at UC San Diego Studio Ten300

Host: Samuel Tsoi

Editors: Mike Fausner, Anthony King

Production Support: Lei Guang, Susan Shirk, Amy Robinson, Sarah Pfledderer, Michelle Fredricks

Music: Dave Liang/Shanghai Restoration Project

Restoration Project

Episode illustration credit: Daniel Bejar