The consequences of political persuasion in Greater China

When and how does political persuasion employed by authoritarian regimes influence the attitudes and behavior of domestic and foreign audiences? Focusing on China, this dissertation comprises three essays in which the effectiveness of political persuasion in public education and mass media was examined. The overarching finding is that the Chinese regime's persuasive efforts are more effective among citizens who have familial connections to state patronage, who are predisposed to be regime-friendly, and who hold relatively weak political positions. By contrast, China-related persuasion often has a limited effect, sometimes even backfiring, for people who lack these background characteristics. A wide range of methodological approaches was adopted in this dissertation, including randomized controlled trials, natural experiments, survey research, and qualitative interviews. The findings reveal the potential and limits of the regime's propaganda and indoctrination, showing how persuasion works and among which segment of the population it works best. Despite devoting considerable resources to projecting influence both domestically and abroad, the Chinese government appears to win the hearts and minds of targets only under certain conditions.