Does promoting democracy to the public of a rising authoritarian power work? In a new paper in Perspectives on Politics, I test it using the US Embassy in China's pro-democracy posts on Chinese social media, using two survey experiments in 2018 and 2021. Results are sobering and counter-intuitive
寂静的声音：美国使馆对华公共外交是否有效 (open access)
#OpenAccess from @poppublicsphere.bsky.social -
The Sound of Silence: Championing Democracy in an Authoritarian Society - https://cup.org/49p4Xfq
- @hhuang.bsky.social
#FirstView
But it stops there. The posts did NOT shift general attitudes toward democracy, views of China or its government, or willingness to move abroad or express dissent, in either year. A democratic "sound" met mostly with silence.
I reran the experiment in Jan 2021, after the US's botched pandemic response and the Jan 6 Capitol attack. The SAME articles now measurably improved views of the US (the "U.S." column). A worse moment for America, a better result. Why?
First experiment, Nov 2018 (calm US-China relations): I showed people genuine embassy articles on US elections, press freedom, official asset disclosure, party funding and free speech. The effect on their views of the US? Basically nothing, even slightly negative.
Because by 2021 Chinese favorability toward the US had collapsed, while views of China stayed high. A beaten-down baseline leaves room to move: a calm, factual account of how American democracy works therefore supplied something the prevailing narrative lacked
Pooling both years confirms it: the same posts moved US views significantly more in 2021 than 2018. Public diplomacy works as a "shield" to defend credibility in a crisis, not a "sword" for proactive conversion in normal times.
Takeaway: democratic messaging rarely converts publics in a confident, rising power, but it can defend a democracy's image in a crisis. Incidentally, the findings also undercut the popular "foreign forces" line: the most visible foreign voice barely moves domestic demands. doi.org/10.1017/S153...
Haifeng Huang
Haifeng Huang
The Sound of Silence: Championing Democracy in an Authoritarian Society
Honored to participate in this great workshop hosted by @rsenninger.bsky.social. Learned a lot from his team’s phenomenal research and other scholars’ excellent work on the topic of information from abroad.
Haifeng Huang
NOW OUT ON FIRSTVIEW!!
The Sound of Silence: #Championing #Democracy in an #Authoritarian #Society
By @hhuang.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1017/S153...
NOW OUT ON FIRSTVIEW!!
The Sound of Silence: #Championing #Democracy in an #Authoritarian #Society
By @hhuang.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1017/S153...
The Sound of Silence: Championing Democracy in an Authoritarian Society
Our workshop closes with an amazing keynote by @hhuang.bsky.social, bringing together more than a decade of survey and experimental research in China to show how international information shapes domestic political attitudes.
