Jun Liu, Shifting Dynamics of Contention in the Digital Age: Mobile Communication and Politics in China

Excerpt

In this excellent book, Jun Liu advocates a communication-centered perspective that highlights how communication in various forms, be it face-to-face, mass communication, or networked communication, may permeate different phases of contention and shape the dynamics of contentious politics. With impressive first-hand fieldwork and interview data collected in a period of over 10 years (roughly 2003–2013), Liu fleshes out his point by systematically examining the influence of communication, especially mobile communication, on political contention as it unfolds. Liu elucidates nicely how ubiquitously available mobile phones condition the choice of contention repertoires among different social groups in different contexts, facilitate protest mobilization through the strong and reciprocal ties, and enable rumor diffusion that functions both as a covert resistance tactic and a frame to contest the state’s control and manipulation of communication. Liu closes the book by summarizing the key findings and broadening the scope of investigation beyond China to see how his framework may help understand contention in the digital age in general. …