Abstract

How do political elites respond to negative public opinion, including about regime performance and policies? This dissertation examines how elites use nuanced forms of communication to foster political support in both domestic and international contexts, focusing on China and U.S.–China relations. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the dissertation, while each of the remaining three chapters develop and test the core arguments. Specifically, in Chapters 2 and 3, I analyze how the Chinese regime leverages curated propaganda campaigns to shape favorable public opinion amid governance challenges. Chapter 2 introduces the concept of “problem-solving entertainment,” showing how the Chinese regime deals with negative information about the prevalence of corruption by producing TV dramas and documentaries that acknowledge corruption and institutional failures while highlighting the regime’s efforts to address them. Drawing on a content analysis, a large-scale text analysis of over 400,000 audience reviews, and survey and panel experiments, I demonstrate that such proactive propaganda enhances perceptions of the regime's competence and accountability. Chapter 3 turns to examining how China deals with the domestic and global support for democracy. Such support poses a threat to the regime and I show, to counter it, that China uses propaganda that highlights the flaws of democratic systems. Specifically, analyzing an original dataset of 900,000 social media posts and two survey experiments, I demonstrate that exposure to such propaganda reduces the appeal of democratic regimes, even if it does not directly increase support for the domestic regime. Chapter 4 further extends to international politics, showing how cross-border communication efforts can reshape attitudes towards international cooperation. I demonstrate that exposure to cultural diplomacy---a conciliatory gesture in the form of cross-border, cultural interactions---can reduce public hostility to international cooperation with the rival state by evoking hope and fostering more positive perceptions of that state. Taken together, the dissertation advances our understanding of how elites navigate negative public opinion, showing how strategic communication can reshape public attitudes in both domestic and international arena.

Committee Chair

Margit Tavits

Committee Members

Carly Wayne; David Carter; Haifeng Huang; Ted Enamorado

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Author's Department

Political Science

Author's School

Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

Document Type

Dissertation

Date of Award

4-15-2026

Language

English (en)

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Available for download on Thursday, April 13, 2028

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