Western Media Research Articles

The Black Sea Region as a Conflict Space in the Discourse of Foreign Think Tanks of 2018–2021

Introduction. The strengthening of Russia’s subjectivity in the Black Sea region makes it the center of the Western media and expert-analytical agenda. The authors of the study aim to define the mechanisms of metaphorical construction of the Black Sea region as a space of conflict in the discourse of the Western think tanks. Materials and Methods. The reports of the leading Western think tanks developing the region concept are used as research materials. The methodological basis of the study is a systematic approach that combines the methods of political linguistics and geopolitical analysis and synthesis. The authors use the methods of discourse analysis to interpret the materials of foreign think tanks devoted to the study of the region, and based on the definition of dominant metaphorical models in the discourse of the Black Sea region, consider possible scenarios for the leading actors in the region. Results. The narratives of the leading American, European and British think tanks are considered and the main metaphorical models characterizing the geopolitical processes in the region are highlighted. The American discourse is dominated by the sports metaphor and its subspecies associated with gambling: the region is perceived as a space of competition, but not war, as evidenced by the lack of military metaphor, which, however, appears in the narratives of the European experts. The Black Sea region is a platform, a springboard for the projection of Russian power in the Mediterranean, which is realized through metaphors with the component “aggressive”. For the British, the Black Sea region is metaphorized as a space of information warfare. Discussion and Conclusion. There are two main types of perception of the Black Sea region as a geopolitical unit by the Western think tanks: the American think tanks see it as a space of global competition of the great powers; the Great Britain has made the Black Sea region a platform for a return to the global arena of Global Britain by drawing on the rhetoric of universal values. The materials of the article and the methodology may be useful for information and analytical support of the foreign policy of the Western countries and for design of response from part of Russia under the condition of intensification of contest of the main Black Sea region actors

СРАВНИТЕЛЬНЫЙ АНАЛИЗ МЕДИАОБРАЗОВАТЕЛЬНЫХ МОДЕЛЕЙ

The article shows a detailed analysis of media education models in the system of higher education. The distinctive features and media education models of Russian and Western media researchers are studied. The characteristic of media literacy as a criterion of the culture of tolerance is given. The article notes that the development of social and personal competence is a condition for the formation of personal self-awareness by the method of media educational models. Well-known media technologies highlight many unsolved problems in the educational system. A factor in the modernization of the educational system is the improvement of competencies by means of media educational technologies, which are scientifically grounded levers that contribute to the formation of a worldview concept among modern youth. Educational technology is included in cycles (blocks, modules) of independent, creative discussions, debates, special courses, and electives, in integrated academic disciplines. Developing general didactic principles of teaching, applying the main provisions of the media competence model for the formation of a culture of youth tolerance. An important condition for the study of media culture is the creation of a perceptual and interpretive environment: taking into account emotional intelligence, mental characteristics, and individual thinking, contributing to the development of the level of consciousness for analyzing the spatiotemporal, audiovisual structure of the media text, in providing creative, therapeutic, hedonistic capabilities of the media.

Mapping of Pakistani Media, Society and Culture in the Mainstream Print Media of the United Kingdom and the United States

This paper interrogated the Western media perception regarding Pakistani society, culture, image and media. It was the developing concern of Western electronic and print media to discuss the various issues related to Pakistan and mainly politics, international relations, society and culture were stressed upon. The present study explored the coverage of American and British press (the Telegraph, the Guardian, the New York Times & the Washington Post) regarding Pakistan. For this reason, the data got from the following newspapers the Telegraph, the Guardian, the New York Times & the Washington Post for the three specific months. The findings revealed that overall negative impression was found in American and British newspapers regarding Pakistani society, culture and media. Pakistani culture was attributed with patriarchal, male chauvinistic with blend of conservative’s tribal norms; extremism, rigidity, violent behavior and religious fanaticism. Women were shown as living in shabby conditions and they were deprived of their fundamental rights. The issues of crime against women, especially in the countryside about domestic violence, acid burning, and abused rape were highlighted. However, softer tone was depicted for pro-Western, liberals’ individuals, NGOs and other elements as compared to the right-wing groups which received more negative frames. Overall the negative issues related to natural disasters, over population, corruption, mismanagement, poor human rights, pervasiveness of conservative’s rightwing groups, and insecurity for journalists dominated the coverage.

Platforms, politics and precarity: Hong Kong television workers amid the new techno-nationalist media agenda

In contrast to the infrastructural properties of Western media platforms aiming at market power expansion, the digital platform model in China is designed and developed with a techno-nationalist media agenda. In the case of Hong Kong, we look into how exactly the platformisation process restructures and interacts with its surrounding cultural, economic, political and social activities. This article contributes to the Creative Labour Studies by analysing the intricate linkages between the city’s unique socio-historical, technological and political trajectories and the lived dynamics of television work. Through in-depth interviews with Hong Kong TV workers, we reinstitute the techno-political to the analytical lens of Creative Labour Studies. We posit that the ebb and flow of Hong Kong’s TV industry and its creative labour process are not just guided by economic considerations under global media platformisation, but also uniquely entangled with its historical legacies, socio-technical contexts, and political and ideological framework. Our empirics show how the conflicting strategies directed by both the platformised business models and an unprecedented techno-nationalist media agenda generate ambiguity and inconsistency in daily TV operations. The elevated self-censorship and loss of editorial autonomy alongside the rapid media platformisation reinforce a normative ‘moralist regime’ creating specific forms of precarity and dissatisfaction among Hong Kong TV workers, undermining the development of the creative industry and a creative career. But the changing techno-political conditions also alter TV workers’ perceived nature, functionality and value of creative work, enacting a self-governed ‘ethical regime’ in their professional practices, and open up new creative opportunities.

The construction of the Chinese image from the perspective of others in the post-truth era——A Frame and Semiotic analysis of BBC’s reports of the Beijing Winter Olympics

News reports are significant for constructing a country’s image in the international community. The frame analysis of Western media coverage of China is quite popular. With the arrival of the Beijing Winter Olympics, which stands as another historical moment in the processing of China’s external image, disputed issues in China have surfaced again in the Western media. In the context of the new media, there still exists a research gap on the new characteristics of Western media when reporting China and the resulting recent changes in China's image. To fill this gap in the literature, based on the semiotic theory and framing theory, this dissertation has selected the 16 reports and their corresponding Twitter comments on the Beijing Winter Olympics which were published by the British news agency BBC in January - February 2022. By utilizing the AntConc to establish corpus and text analysis, it shall investigate from the perspective of others the discourse construction characteristics of Western media and the Chinese image from the three components of communication theme, text content, and audience feedback. The research results have presented that the Western media represented by the BBC cannot eliminate ideological stereotypes in the discourse construction of the "other" (China). The intention of the report is tendentious. Its reporting news frame is based on inherent prejudice and the opinion tendency to incite Public Opinion. Thus, it has resulted in the formation of a Chinese image of “high-pressure coercion” and “ignoring human rights” from the perspective of the other. Therefore, this dissertation adopts China as an example to propose the media cross-cultural international communication strategy of expanding the discourse subject, updating the symbol system and absorbing the folk discourse.

“Inevitable” and “Imminent” Invasions: The Logic Behind Western Media War Stories

In the 21st century, great power geopolitics is back as the Western-centric U.S. unipolar order is facing relative decline due to the challenges posed by the non-Western-centric multipolar order, specifi cally by China and Russia. In political and practical terms, geopolitics is about being able to manage and represent the nature of international relations in terms of actor relations and power dynamics. It concerns the ability of actors to make representations and interpretations of actors, events, and processes taking place in the physical realm. Informational geopolitics as an indirect and non-kinetic form of competition and confl ict has gained increasing prominence in the 21st century, where information and knowledge form the fi fth dimension of strategy. This leads to increasingly unstable international relations as the U.S. seeks to prevent other powers from growing at its expense. Hence, the critical role played by Western mainstream mass media outlets as a means of obstructive foreign policy in preserving the unipolar order through specifi c discursive practices employed in international news. Critical discourse analysis is used to analyse and interpret Western news stories on “inevitable” and “imminent” Chinese and Russian invasions. Informational geopolitics is used as a means of limiting opponent’s operational choices and opportunities in their pursuit of foreign policy objectives.

FROM RADICALISM TO TOLERANCE: MEDIA COVERAGE OF THE MUSLIM WORLD LEAGUE

Following its establishment in 1962, the Muslim World League (MWL) was meant to be an organization that expands the outreach of Saudi Arabia and its then Wahabi version of Islam in the world in the time when other competing ideologies, especially Arab nationalism, were on the rise. This allowed it to carry out religious, cultural, aid and educational programs. At the time, The Saudi adopted version of Islam known as Wahabism was rejected in the western world. This study analyses news reports about the MWL published by mostly western media outlets, by using Critical Discourse Analysis as a theory. This study concludes that the coverage of MWL has changed recently from being negative to being positive with Mohammad Al-Issa assuming the leadership of MWL and with radical changes taking place in Saudi Arabia itself, politically, socially, religiously and culturally. Western media coverage of MWL now connects the organization to coexistence, religious tolerance, openness and moderate thinking and positive view of other faiths. It suggests that MWL has rejected all forms of radicalism and strict interpretation of Islam and calls for unity and building bridges with other religions.

Membaca Gerak Roh di Era Pasca-Kebenaran: Analisis Pneumatologis Video “Propaganda Anti-Islam” Robert Spencer

This paper aims to show the need to deciphere the movement of the Holy Spirit correctly in the post-truth era, where truth is determined by the dominant system, and not the correct system, as Michel Foucault said.<br />Through the views of Christian pneumatology in both Eastern and Western theological traditions, Asian context, media analysis and philosophy, this paper analyzes anti-Islam propaganda videos by Robert Spencer. The Holy<br />Spirit certainly didn’t blow on Spencer’s propaganda, because the Spirit basically unites and not divides (Galatians 5:21-23). In the Pentecost, the Holy Spirit enabled the apostles to be open and accepting differences in language and the aspects contained therein: culture, beliefs, and customs. The pneumatological views of Zizioulas, Jurgen Moltmann, Karl Rahner, Michael Welker, Clark Pinnock, and the Bishops of Asia emphasize that the Holy Spirit who is still moving contains the power that sustains and inspires people towards truth and peace. Hegel’s dialectical philosophy of the Spirit can be a way of thinking for the faithful to critically deciphere the movements of the Spirit through digital literacy. In the digital world, humans as “Hearers of the Word” are “Password Breakers”<br />who are critical in deciphering the movements of the Spirit.<br /><br /><strong>Keywords:</strong> Holy Spirit, Church, dialogue, post-truth, media

Exploring The Roots of The Chinese Soft Power

This article attempts to explore the roots of the Chinese soft power. For a few decades, Chinese soft power is under the rigorous scrutiny of the western media. The western media is severely critical of the Chinese economic model, authoritarianism, democracy, and Confucius institutes. China promotes its soft power through its civilization, culture, trade, and economics, win-win model, Shared Destiny, and mutual respect. However, the previous scholarship on China has focused more on the rise of China, the power struggle between China and the US, the Chinese economic model, and authoritarian leadership, whereas events that have helped shape Chinese soft power are less explored. Based on the secondary sources of literature on Chinese soft power, this research aims to explore and explain how Chinese soft power has evolved in China.

An ideological square analysis of the podcast discourse in “Chinese Dreams” of the BBC World Service

ABSTRACT Employing the ideological square model (Van Dijk, 1998, 2000), this article examines polarization strategies of positive and negative representations of ‘us’ and ‘them’ in ideological discourse on the rise of China by Western media. We analyzed discourse properties in the narratives of five podcast episodes of the BBC World Service about the Chinese Dream, one episode each on Australia, Canada, India, Indonesia, and Kenya. The results revealed prevalent negative representations of ‘them’ – emphasizing negative characteristics and de-emphasizing positive ones of China. However, discourse strategies of emphasizing positive characteristics about ‘us’ and de-emphasizing negative things about ‘us’ were only found in Australia and Canada. The podcasts hardly avoided discussing negative aspects of India, Indonesia, and Kenya. In doing so, the BBC’s ideological discourse excluded these countries from ‘us.’ Our study indicates that the ideological square approach is not only useful to elucidate discourses behind positive and negative representations of ‘us’ and ‘them’ but also can identify nuances in discursive construction of ‘us.’

The Absence of Western Media in the World: Examining News Coverage on the Wars in Afghanistan and in Ethiopia

The mainstream media in the U.S, regardless of the platform, have severely deviated from reporting international news, and have mainly focused on the political divide within America. The election of Donald Trump, and the rise of the alt-right have brought forth an age of media that has moved away from covering foreign affairs, somewhat isolating the immigrant population in America from their families and friends abroad. In this essay, I will address the implications of pushing aside foreign politics, by using the recent example of the turmoil in Ethiopia, and the War in Afghanistan. I will also address the importance of relating public policy to the extent of journalism. The use of framing is also essential in explaining the approaches in reporting significant events. Historical context will also be provided in order to explain to readers the significance of By observing the conflicts within the Horn of Africa and the Middle East, I will demonstrate how the Western Media should attempt to broaden its coverage, and cover more conflicts within the global community.

LIFE IN THE USSR IN THE EYES OF AFRICAN STUDENTS (1960s – 1980s)

The relevance of the article lies in the fact that the question of the education and life of African students in the USSR remains little studied in historiography. The work is based on the information of a survey conducted by the author among former African students who studied in the USSR during the 1960s – 1980s. During the period of decolonization on the African continent, Western and African media spread one-sided negative information about the Soviet Union, including the ill-treatment of some Africans who were representatives of the first wave of students studying in the USSR. Nevertheless, the flow of those wishing to receive a Soviet education was growing. After living in the USSR for several years, African students got acquainted with life in the Soviet country. Comparing the memories of representatives of different generations about the Soviet way of life, suggests that their view from the outside allowed them to notice the peculiarities of Soviet life and everyday life. Goodwill of teachers, communication with Soviet students contributed to the fact that Africans formed their own ideas about the USSR, different from the imposed media. Despite the strong ideological component of the Soviet education system, African students were not interested in deeply assimilation the theoretical foundations of Marxist-Leninist socialism. However, our respondents admitted that they liked the Soviet socialist system, which, unfortunately, was not realizable in Africa. As a result, their student life spent in the Soviet Union remained one of the most vivid memories in their lives.

The Role of Enterprise Europe Network in Export Activities of the Western Balkan SMEs

The Western Balkan region (WB) small and medium enterprises (SMEs) lag behind the EU-28 counterparts in their export activities. The positive influence of the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) on local business support organisations and the local businesses is identified as a contributing factor to that improvement. To investigate the EEN's role in the export of the WB SMEs in the period 2014–2017, the authors used available statistical data on export from the WB countries. The survey was conducted in three phases, with the samples of 1,463, 222, and 12 companies. Analysed results of the EEN activities in the WB show that EEN had a positive influence on the firms’ performance and their international activities; 67% of supported firms increased their turnover, 62% increased their market share, and the EEN services had a positive impact on the jobs in 52% of the examined firms. The survey results about the expected and actual impact of the EEN services proved a positive impact of the Network on the five indicators: market improvement, cost savings, job creation or maintenance, quality improvement, and innovation. The paper contains important practical implications for the policymakers and the SME managers alike, and the implications mentioned above are generalisable.

Tahrir Square: A Geopolitical Paradigm of the People's Revolution

Tahrir Square:A Geopolitical Paradigm of the People's Revolution Farah Ali (bio) Introduction Geopolitics analyzes the relations between the interests of international political actors and interest within an area, a space, or a geopolitical element. In the geopolitical context, a place is not merely an area with no definition. A place is defined by its multifaceted political milestones.1 An example that occurred in Egypt is the revolution of January 25, which ended the 30-year rule of President Hosni Mubarak. Ever since, the revolution's location, Tahrir Square, became a symbol of liberation (which is the meaning of its name) and insurgency. It became so much so that the revolution of June 30, which occurred only two years later and intended to overthrow the Muslim Brotherhood's regime, also took place in Tahrir Square. This article will focus on the events leading up to the 2011 revolution, and how the geopolitical definition of Tahrir Square was formed in terms of its symbolic meaning to the people and the vitality of public space to political reform or transformation. Origins of Tahrir Square Tahrir Square's original name was Ismailiyah Square, as it was initiated by Khedive Ismail as part of modernizing Cairo. Years later, an incident caused an uproar in Ismailiyah Square; British soldiers opened fire at Egyptian rebels who were protesting the United Kingdom's presence in Egypt. This [End Page 110] occurrence resulted in the death of 24 Egyptians on February 11, 1946. This day is incidentally the same one on which President Mubarak was overthrown, only 64 years later. After the Free Officers Movement changed Egypt from a kingdom to a republic, President Gamal Abdul Nasser declared that Ismailiyah Square's name would officially be changed to one that fits its liberating essence, Tahrir Square.2 January 25th: A Revolution Thousands of Egyptians gathered in Cairo's urban hub, Tahrir Square, to rebel against the Mubarak regime. The revolution's spark was triggered by the repercussions of Mohamed Bouazizi, a Tunisian fruit-seller, setting himself on fire as a form of protest against the Tunisian government on December 17, 2010. Approximately three weeks later, the Egyptians chose to gather in Cairo's biggest square, shouting slogans that demanded Mubarak to step down.3 The Egyptian people were triggered by the Tunisian revolt but had their own resentments toward their government. Factors such as unemployment, high levels of corruption, poverty, and police brutality accumulated over the years of Mubarak's rule. One of the most striking examples of police brutality that caused national unrest was the case of Khaled Said, a 28-year-old businessman who was beaten to death inside an internet café by members of the police force. The police claimed that Said's death occurred because of him swallowing a pouch of marijuana.4 However, a gruesome photo of Said's battered body in the morgue proved that the police's claims were false. The truth was revealed when a video posted by Said on his Facebook profile showed footage of police officers distributing seized drugs and money between themselves.5 With that, a viral uproar sparked on social media leading up to hundreds of thousands of Egyptians voicing their support for Khaled Said and others that suffered from the dictatorial regime. A particular Facebook page created by Wael Ghoneim, a then-Google Market Executive, was quickly "liked" by a huge number of Egyptian users. The page's name, "We Are All Khaled Said," along with its revolution-inducing posts caused people's anger at the [End Page 111] regime to increase. The buildup eventually resulted in an outrage that was initiated on January 25. According to Egyptian tradition, January 25 is the official national holiday that honors their police forces. However, the people viewed the date as an opportunity to mobilize against the police and the authoritarian state. Global media, specifically Western media, emphasized the role that social media played in initiating the revolution rather than emphasizing that an actual revolution was taking place in the streets of Egypt.6 The true essence of the revolution was situated in Tahrir Square, where colloquial slogans demanding "bread, freedom, social equality" and an "[…] overthrow...

Telling China's story through reports on major manned space activities: A case study of the coverage of Shenzhou spacecraft in Chinese and Western media

The Shenzhou spacecraft have been independently developed by China, and the country has complete intellectual property rights to this technology. The spacecraft are examples of China's achievements in space technology, are representative of the country having reached or surpassed international technological standards for third-generation manned spacecraft, and have garnered widespread interest among international media and audiences. Our study found that there are many differences between Chinese and Western media in their coverage of this major topic. China's reporting system on this issue is well established but still has room for improvement. Western media have considered both positive and negative angles when reporting on this issue, and that deserves attention. In these circumstances, it is important for China to improve its communicators, communication content, information release mechanisms, narrative style and response mechanism through targeted measures, such as cultivating new communicators, developing new content and minimizing cultural discounts in cross-cultural communication in order to enhance China's voice on the world stage.

The post-colonialist condition, suspicion, and social resistance during the West African Ebola epidemic: The importance of Frantz Fanon for global health

The scholarship of Frantz Fanon has been recognized across numerous disciplines as a unique and necessary intervention for critical analyses of the (post)colonial condition. Yet, thus far, his oeuvre has largely been ignored in global health research. In this article we introduce and demonstrate the relevance of Fanon's work for the field of global health. To illustrate, we draw from Fanon's conceptual framework and observations to analyze the 2014–16 Ebola Virus Disease outbreak response in West Africa. During this Ebola epidemic, although not necessarily as widespread as Western media made it seem, numerous instances of “resistance”—sometimes violent—were levied by members of the community toward foreign outbreak response teams. In this article, we argue that the keen insights proffered by Fanon more than half a century ago help facilitate a deeper understanding of some of the reactions of community members and public health officials during the Ebola response. In calling attention to colonial histories and structural relations of power, poverty, and violence, Fanon's work can help us to effectively move towards “decolonizing” global health interventions, thus providing a framework with which to better understand and more humanely intervene in future epidemic outbreaks in the Global South.

The domestication of “the Arab Spring”: A comparison of news framing in the United States and South Korea

By employing a content analysis of news stories, this study explored how national history, national interests and journalistic values have affected the coverage of the Arab Spring by South Korea and the United States. Overall, the lens of national interest largely determined the newsworthiness of stories in the two nations. Journalists’ perspectives on journalism (specifically, on the role of journalists) as well as media routines have also influenced journalists’ presentations of the Arab Spring. The U.S. newspaper coverage relied on the views of Arab opposition figures and civilians most prominently, followed by those of U.S. government officials; while the South Korean papers relied heavily on foreign media as their sources (in particular, Western media). While this difference in news sourcing led to correspondingly divergent news frames, ironically, it often also resulted in a congruence between the news frames employed in each country’s major news outlets. This study proposes that national interests and history should be further considered as important dimensions for developing the models of media systems.

Telling China's story through reports on scientists: A comparative analysis of the reports on Tu Youyou in Chinese and Western media

As the first native Chinese scientist to win a Nobel Prize in science, Tu Youyou, who is a researcher of the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, is an iconic figure in the Chinese scientific community. Tu's story in Chinese and Western media reports has aroused heated discussion, creating a great opportunity for China to increase its voice in international communications. Through content analysis of relevant reports in Chinese and Western media, we found that, when reporting on the personal character of scientists, Western media politicize scientific and technological events. On the other hand, Chinese media tend to focus on the scientific research and stress a communal spirit among researchers, but the reports have the problem of similar contents and style. Based on this analysis, we proposed several suggestions on how to best tell China's story through reporting on scientists.

From global to neo-global: Mapping the ‘tele’-visual geography of South Asia through a transnational lens

ABSTRACT Globalization and transnationalism have expanded the physical territory of television and are responsible for global reshaping of media industries and cultures. In the contemporary mediascape, Indian television industry is an interesting site for excavating new transnational patterns wherein the circulation of Indian TV content extends beyond the diaspora and caters to non-diasporic audiences, especially, in South Asia and South-east Asia. The popularity of Hindi language TV soaps in Indonesia, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, etc., have aided in mapping a new ‘tele’-visual geography of popular culture that deems Western media influence as almost insignificant, if not absent. Chronicling the success of two Indian TV programmes – the story of a ‘child-bride’ Balika Vadhu (2008–16) in Vietnam and a Hindu mythological Mahabharat (2013–14) in a Muslim-populated Indonesia; this paper traces the transnational circulation of Indian TV content amongst non-diasporic markets in South-east Asia. Drawing from Daya Kishan Thussu’s notion of ‘contra-flows’ and Brian Larkin’s conception of ‘parallel modernities’, the paper argues that the success of Indian television programmes in non-West media markets diverts our attention towards new kinds of transnational media flows which I have termed ‘neo-global’ flows that operate amongst emerging centres of media production and need not be mapped against dominant Western flows.

Review: Falun Gong: Spiritual Warfare and Martyrdom, by James R. Lewis

The starting point of Falun Gong: Spiritual Warfare and Martyrdom is leader Li Hongzhi’s instructions to practitioners to refrain from talking to ordinary people about high-level spiritual things. He advises instead for them to talk about the persecution they suffered and tell people they are just doing exercises. The author, James Lewis, pivots away from these statements to delve into Falun Gong’s teachings related to spiritual violence.The introduction hints at the emotional labor behind the research. Lewis is the former editor of the Journal of Religion and Violence, and like other scholars (including this reviewer), he initially wanted to help persecuted members. Later, he discovered the spiritual movement was not as it seemed. His thesis is clear: the leader Li Hongzhi urges practitioners to seek brutalization. The more they are brutalized, the more Li Hongzhi’s power expands.The next chapters examine this brutalization and its origins. Lewis discusses the spiritual teachings that drive practitioners to protest the Chinese government with foreseeably grim consequences. An especially relevant doctrine is that during abuse, the aggressor passes precious white matter called de to the victim. Therefore, practitioners do not resist abuse because they receive de from it, which contributes to their xinxing (spiritual nature).By itself, this belief could be heartening to those who are mistreated. However, Lewis draws attention to its context—Li Hongzhi’s warnings of an imminent apocalypse in which only those with high-level xinxing will survive. Lewis says these teachings incite a kind of spiritual vampirism where practitioners provoke the police to arrest and imprison them as a way of quickly getting enough de to save themselves. Their need for de meshes with the Chinese government’s need to stamp out rebellion, and the line between attacker and victim blurs.These points are not new, but Lewis makes them more persuasive by drawing on his interviews with former practitioners who were at the main protests in China. These sources enable him to identify a crucial problem. Li Hongzhi urges practitioners to protest and to let go of attachment to their own body, yet he gives few specific directions about how to do this. This ambiguity allows him to attribute failures to the purportedly demonic Chinese Communist Party or to alleged demons masquerading as his followers.Lewis demonstrates the impact of this ambiguity by recounting the grisly scene of Falun Gong self-immolations in Tiananmen Square in 2001, which followed Li Hongzhi’s cryptic exhortation to go beyond the limits of forbearance. In the wake of the tragedy, Falun Gong issued a statement that the self-immolators were not real practitioners, a view that Lewis finds implausible. He is at his most poignant when he describes meeting one of the surviving self-immolators, Chen Guo. He reached out to shake her hand only to remember she lost both hands in the fire.Interspersed throughout the book are intriguing sections on Li Hongzhi’s self-perception, how pro-Falun Gong editors gerrymander Wikipedia pages, and why Western media often uncritically accepts Falun Gong claims. The book closes with an afterword in which Lewis describes his disenchantment with Falun Gong and addresses potential counter-arguments to his research.Practitioners and advocates may feel confronted by Lewis’s study. Irrespective of what incentivizes Falun Gong martyrs and why they refrain from disclosing these incentives, many have been traumatized. Certainly, Lewis does not support the way the Chinese government brutalized them, but he does not soften or whitewash Falun Gong’s dogmas, and the volume could be subtitled “Why it is unwise to join Falun Gong.”The book will be of interest to scholars studying the pay-offs of martyrdom, as well as Sinologists and researchers of new religious movements. The most appreciative readers may be investigative journalists delving into the hidden side of Falun Gong. That is because Lewis has a captivating style and invites the question of what other secrets Falun Gong may be hiding.