Gripped by Fear: China's Digital “Stability Maintenance” and Revanchist Emotional Nationalism

This article examines the substance and mechanisms of Chinese nationalism. It does so by probing the boundaries of the permissible in online discourse, and explaining how the uncompromising emotions expressed online interrelate with the patriotic messages that the government espouses. The party's obsession with maintaining social stability stems from a profound fear of the people demanding freedoms it cannot give. With a stagnating economy, China under Xi Jinping (习近平) has doubled down on the repression and propaganda levers. This means that constructing external enemies and keeping down projected traitors is deemed key. Yet a scenario where government censors, digital cheerleaders, or the covert police state are no longer able to “cool popular emotions” is no inconceivable possibility, and would mean a challenge to the Chinese Communist Party's rule that is entirely of its own making.