The Pathology of Hard Propaganda
Open accessAbstract
Authoritarian governments often impose crude and heavy-handed propaganda messages on society. Is such hard propaganda effective in sustaining authoritarian rule? With an original survey experiment featuring messages from China’s ongoing propaganda campaign, this study finds that hard propaganda can backfire and worsen citizens’ opinions of the regime, while at the same time signaling the state’s power and reducing citizens’ willingness to protest. Thus, hard propaganda can deter dissent and help maintain regime stability in the short term, but it can also decrease regime legitimacy and aggravate the government’s long-term prospects, especially when its power and control capacity do not keep up with propaganda.
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Interference can also backfire.
“At the same time, however, interference can also backfire (Huang, 2018).”
From How Dictators Control the Internet: A Review Essay (2020) · cites this paper as Huang, 2018
Propaganda may inhibit collective action.
“while we know that propaganda may inhibit collective action (Huang, 2018)”
From How Dictators Control the Internet: A Review Essay (2020) · cites this paper as Huang, 2018
Case studies underline that outward FDI from authoritarian countries can serve as a tool to stabilize authoritarian structures elsewhere.
“Case studies underline that outward FDI from authoritarian countries can serve as a tool to stabilize author itarian structures elsewhere. 51”
From Authoritarian collaboration and repression in the digital age: balancing foreign direct investment and control in internet infrastructure (2026) · cites this paper as [51]
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References 28 · Cited by 233
- Authors
- Huang, H.
- Affiliations
- University of California, Merced (US)
- Corresponding author
- Huang, Haifeng
- ORCID
- Huang, Haifeng
- Venue
- The Journal of Politics
- Publisher
- University of Chicago Press
- Published
- 2018-07
- Volume
- 80
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 1034-1038
- ISSN
- 0022-3816 (ISSN-L)
- 1468-2508
- OpenAlex
- W3123402106
- Cited by
- 233
- References
- 28
- Citations by year
- 2026: 33 · 2025: 35 · 2024: 57 · 2023: 28 · 2022: 27 · 2021: 23 · 2020: 19 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 4
- FWCI
- 20.95
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- doi.org
- Locations
- The Journal of Politics (publishedVersion)
- SSRN Electronic Journal (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
- University of California Merced
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Media Influence and Politics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Political Conflict and Governance
- Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › China's Socioeconomic Reforms and Governance
- Keywords
- authoritarian regimes, regime legitimacy, regime stability, protest behavior, suppression of dissent, propaganda effectiveness, control capacity
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