1. Broadcasting Out-Group Repression to the In-Group: Evidence From China.
- Author
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Baggott Carter, Erin and Carter, Brett L.
- Subjects
- *
OUTGROUPS (Social groups) , *ELITE (Social sciences) , *UIGHUR (Turkic people) , *INGROUPS (Social groups) , *MASSACRES , *BROADCASTING industry ,TIANANMEN Square Massacre, China, 1989 - Abstract
Many autocrats govern with an in-group, whose support must be secured, and an out-group, which is subject to repression. How do autocrats exploit in-group/out-group dynamics to secure their survival? One strategy, we argue, is to broadcast out-group repression to the in-group as a signal of the regime's capacity for violence. Empirically, we focus on China, where the government represses ethnic Uyghurs in Xinjiang. Drawing on 1 million articles from six propaganda newspapers, we show that the regime broadcasts out-group repression to urban elites on each anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, when 10% of Beijing residents joined anti-regime protests. To understand its effects, we conducted a survey experiment balanced on the national census during the June 2020 Tiananmen anniversary. Using a list experiment to mitigate preference falsification, we show that CCP propaganda about Uyghurs during the Tiananmen anniversary discourages protests among politically engaged urban elites because they fear repression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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