Propaganda as Signaling

Abstract

Why do authoritarian governments engage in propaganda when citizens often know that their governments are propagandizing and therefore resist or ignore the messages? This paper proposes that propaganda is often not used for indoctrination of pro-regime values and attitudes, as is traditionally understood, but rather to signal the government’s strength in maintaining social control and political order. Consistent with the theory, analysis of a unique dataset shows that Chinese college students with more exposure to state propaganda in the form of ideological and political education are not more satisfied with China’s government system, but are more likely to believe that the regime is strong in maintaining social control, and less willing to participate in political dissent. Additional evidences supporting the theory are also briefly discussed. *Assistant professor of political science, University of California, Merced (email: hhuang24@ucmerced.edu). I am grateful to Li Zhi for help with the data collection. I would also like to thank John James Kennedy, Susan Shirk, Daniela Stockmann, Kharis Ali Templeman, and two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments.