China as a Double-Bind Regulatory State

This book explores the dynamics of the Chinese regulation of internet firms. Sitting at the crossroad of regulation studies, communication studies, political economy, and the social movements, it conceptualises China as a “double-bind regulatory state”, defined as a two-step autonomy-enabling process. First, the party-state’s pursuit of competiting objectives creates a predicament for regulators. In the second step, private internet firms consciously exploit regulators’ predicament to enlarge their maneuvering room. The approach of “double-bind regulatory state” challenges some current academic accounts that exaggerate the capacity of the Chinese party-state to establish seamless control. This book is of interest to scholars of Chinese politics, digital law, political economy, and more.

“Authoritarian regimes smother internet and the social media.  This book boldly argues this is not the case in China, where the party-state is torn between conflicting political and economic objectives: control society and drive economic growth.  Taking advantage of this “double bind regulation”,  private ISM firms have managed to secure zones of autonomy .  A brilliant demonstration.” (--Nonna Mayer, Sciences Po, Paris)

“In China as a Double-Bind Regulatory State, Aifang Ma provides an ambitious yet convincing framework to explain the puzzling coexistence of an all-powerful and unchecked party-state and the relatively autonomous space for private internet and social media firms to grow and thrive. This book is theoretically innovative, methodologically rigorous, and empirically rich. A must read for anyone  curious about internet governance and regulation in China.” (--Rongbin Han, University of Georgia)

“An extraordinarily interesting, highly provocative and deeply empirical piece of political analysis on a topic of staggering importance. Its achievement, above all, is to restore the agency of firms and netizens in its forensic reconstruction and de-mythologising of the saga of the ongoing birth of a digital public sphere in China.” (--Colin Hay, Sciences Po, Paris)

“Through a detailed, provocative and insightful analysis of state-firm interactions, Aifang Ma shows how private internet firms in China carved out a space of relative autonomy. This book is a must-read for students of Chinese internet regulation.” (–Guobin Yang, University of Pennsylvania)

Dr. Aifang Ma is currently a Boya Postdoctoral Scholar and a Lecturer at the School of Journalism and Communication, Peking University. She obtains her Ph.D in political science at Sciences Po Paris in 2022. She works on the regulation of the digital economy and artificial intelligence. Her research has been published in Public Administration, Revue Monde Chinois Nouvelle Asie, Constructif, Modern Publishing, Journal of Tianjin Administration Institute, Twenty-First Century, Mutations, The Conversation, etc.