Techno-biopolitics under a tentative “state of exception”: the institutional logic of the digital governance of inbound travelers during the COVID-19 pandemic in China

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic propelled many countries into a “state of exception,” under which several regular governance norms were suspended and emergency regulations were enacted. China was no exception. After its initial domestic vacillation, China implemented rigorous measures to control its borders and employed digital technologies, such as health codes and intelligent gate magnets, to streamline inbound travel management. These measures were in place until the end of 2022. Drawing on 30 in-depth semi-structured interviews and public and social media posts, this study examines the multifaceted role of digital governance in the management of inbound travelers during the COVID-19 pandemic in China. Digital governance facilitated and streamlined the quarantining of inbound travelers. Meanwhile, the use of digital measures was entangled with the institutional logic of China’s local governance, which sometimes had to reconcile contradictory goals. Theoretically, the paper enriches our understanding of not only the idiosyncrasies of Chinese digital governance but also of techno-biopolitics under a COVID-19-induced tentative state of exception, which sheds light on a possible future in which digital technologies are deeply integrated into the institutional logic of governance in an increasingly turbulent world.