Constructed Community: Rise and Engines of Chinese Nationalism Under Xi Jinping

ABSTRACT

The Chinese state-sponsored campaign for nationalism has intensified since the last decade. This article is an empirical study focusing on Chinese mass nationalism in the same period. Drawing data from the World Values Surveys, it finds that mass nationalism significantly increased from 2012/13 to 2018, ranked second with a growth rate of 13.7% among 27 selected countries and regions. The origin of this remarkable rise of mass nationalism is rooted in elite construction. The findings suggest that constructivism is the most potent theory to explain nationalism during Xi’s presidency. The intensification of mass nationalism in China will continue as long as the construction of state nationalism is maintained. One backlash against this trend may come from social media.

KEYWORDS:

• Chinese nationalism
• mass nationalism
• national identity
• constructivism
• Xi Jinping

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

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²³ ibid.

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³⁷ Rogers Brubaker, Nationalism Reframed: Nationhood and the National Question in the New Europe (Cambridge University Press, 1996); Bonikowski (n 32).

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⁴² Tang and Darr (n 38); Jackson S. Woods and Bruce J. Dickson, ‘Victims and Patriots: Disaggregating Nationalism in Urban China’, Journal of Contemporary China 26, (2017), p. 167.

⁴³ Alastair Iain Johnston, ‘Is Chinese Nationalism Rising? Evidence from Beijing’, International Security 41, (2017), p. 7; Jessica Chen Weiss, ‘How Hawkish Is the Chinese Public? Another Look at “Rising Nationalism” and Chinese Foreign Policy’, Journal of Contemporary China 28, (2019), p. 679.

⁴⁴ David Denemark and Andrew Chubb, ‘Citizen Attitudes towards China’s Maritime Territorial Disputes: Traditional Media and Internet Usage as Distinctive Conduits of Political Views in China’, Information, Communication & Society 19, (2016), p. 59; Weiss, ‘How Hawkish Is the Chinese Public?’ (n 43).

⁴⁵ Peter Hays Gries and others, ‘Patriotism, Nationalism and China’s US Policy: Structures and Consequences of Chinese National Identity’, The China Quarterly 205, (2011), p. 1.

⁴⁶ Weiss, ‘How Hawkish Is the Chinese Public?’ (n 43).

⁴⁷ Zhao, A Nation-State by Construction (n 38).

⁴⁸ Suisheng Zhao, ‘Foreign Policy Implications of Chinese Nationalism Revisited: The Strident Turn’, Journal of Contemporary China 22, (2013), p. 535.

⁴⁹ Bonikowski (n 32).

⁵⁰ Zhao, ‘Foreign Policy Implications of Chinese Nationalism Revisited’ (n 48).

⁵¹ Wenfang Tang, Populist Authoritarianism: Chinese Political Culture and Regime Sustainability (Oxford University Press, 2016).

⁵² ‘Achieving Rejuvenation Is the Dream of the Chinese People’ (n 9).

⁵³ ibid.

⁵⁴ ‘A Strong Sense of Community for the Chinese Nation’ (n 10).

⁵⁵ Danson Cheong, ‘China’s Foreign Policy More “proactive” under President Xi Jinping, Says Chinese Expert’ The Straits Times (Singapore, 9 January 2018). Accessed August 30, 2023. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/chinas-foreign-policy-more-proactive-under-president-xi-jinping-says-chinese-expert.

⁵⁶ Xuetong Yan, ‘From Keeping a Low Profile to Striving for Achievement’, The Chinese Journal of International Politics 7, (2014), p. 153.

⁵⁷ ‘Interpreting China’s “Wolf-Warrior Diplomacy”’. Accessed April 6, 2023. https://thediplomat.com/2020/05/interpreting-chinas-wolf-warrior-diplomacy/.

⁵⁸ Tang (n 51).

⁵⁹ Brubaker and Cooper (n 21).

⁶⁰ ibid.

⁶¹ Gellner (n 34).

⁶² ibid.

⁶³ ibid.

⁶⁴ ibid.

⁶⁵ Anthony D. Smith, The Ethnic Origins of Nations (Reprint, Wiley-Blackwell, 1991).

⁶⁶ ibid.

⁶⁷ ibid.

⁶⁸ ibid.

⁶⁹ Gellner (n 34).

⁷⁰ Smith (n 65).

⁷¹ Tang and Darr (n 38).

⁷² Benedict R. O’G Anderson, Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism (Revised edition, Verso, 2016).

⁷³ ibid.

⁷⁴ Christian Haerpfer and others, ‘World Values Survey Time-Series (1981–2022) Cross-National Data-Set’. Accessed April 7, 2023. https://www.worldvaluessurvey.org/WVSDocumentationWVL.jsp.

⁷⁵ We are aware of the limitation of measuring mass nationalism with only two questions. They may not capture the richness of the concept of mass nationalism. These are the only questions in the 3 waves of the World Values Surveys that are related to the respondents’ sense of national identity. They can nevertheless demonstrate the change over time which is a key question this study aims to address. Similar trend of mass nationalism can also be found in other surveys based on similar measures, such as the Asian Barometer Surveys. See HYPERLINK ‘https://www.asianbarometer.org/’.

⁷⁶ Gellner (n 34).

⁷⁷ Smith (n 65).

⁷⁸ ibid.

⁷⁹ See Wenfang Tang, ‘The Worshipping Atheist: Institutional and Diffused Religiosities in China’, China: An International Journal 12, (2014), p. 1.

⁸⁰ Tang and Darr (n 38).

⁸¹ Gary King, Jennifer Pan and Margaret E Roberts, ‘How Censorship in China Allows Government Criticism but Silences Collective Expression’, American Political Science Review 107, (2013), p. 326.

⁸² Evgeny Morozov, ‘The Digital Dictatorship’ (20 February 2010). Accessed April 11, 2023. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703983004575073911147404540.

⁸³ Xinying Zhao, ‘Government Leads in Patriotic Education’ (Chinadaily.com.cn). Accessed April 13, 2023. https://global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201710/02/WS5a0bf20aa31061a738405490.html.

⁸⁴ ‘Zhonggong Zhongyang Guowuyuan Yinfa “Xinshidai Aiguozhuyi Jiaoyu Shishigangyao” [The Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the State Council Have Published an Outline for Promoting Patriotic Education in the New Era]’ (Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China). Accessed April 14, 2023. http://www.moe.gov.cn/jyb_xxgk/moe_1777/moe_1778/201911/t20191113_407983.html; ‘China Unveils Outline for Strengthening Patriotic Education’. Accessed April 14, 2023. http://english.www.gov.cn/policies/latestreleases/201911/13/content_WS5dcb3985c6d0bcf8c4c16fa2.html.

⁸⁵ ‘Why Is Culture at the Heart of China’s Rejuvenation Plan?’ (CGTN). Accessed April 14, 2023. https://www.cgtn.com/how-china-works/news/2021-06-10/Why-is-culture-at-the-heart-of-China-s-rejuvenation-plan–10YzqdKgI7u/share.html.

⁸⁶ Kyle Jaros and Jennifer Pan, ‘China’s Newsmakers: Official Media Coverage and Political Shifts in the Xi Jinping Era’, The China Quarterly 233, (2018), p. 111.

⁸⁷ Xu Wu, Chinese Cyber Nationalism: Evolution, Characteristics, and Implications (Lexington Books, 2007).

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the CUHKSZ University Development Fund.