Since it is true that power is also constructed through the narratives that recount it (Castells, 2009), then controlling the flow of information concerning an individual or a State’s actions and identity is certainly fundamental to defining and elaborating their own role and aspirations. Technological evolutions in communication infrastructures have provided new opportunities and a new availability of the means for official information, while at the same time increasing the array of actors and voices who provide the narratives that condition the course of events and their interpretation (Hayden, 2012a; Rothman, 2011). The relationship between the State and the public can therefore potentially evolve thanks to these means, creating the perception of an erosion of State power, in turn replaced, if not superseded, by other forms of cultural, identity and relational legitimization. Having recognized the extent to which the internet and its spatial micro-dimensions have centralized the image in way reality is shaped (Hartley, 2012; Gemini, 2012), the aim of this thesis is to investigate how the State’s symbolic and visual self-representation succeeds in defining its identity and its capacity for influence. Since, indeed, the internet allows citizens to upload content on social networks, the same potential allows States to reinforce symbolic and instrumental information-production according to their own characteristics. As such, the aim here is to assess how information on the internet acts as a vector for the reputational construction of a State, so as to strengthen its identity representation. Specifically, the thesis concentrates on soft power and its afferent disciplines, as interpreted and operated in one specific national context: China. Specifically, the connotations of the Chinese understanding of State, politics and power will be sketched out, so as to detail the contextual framework in which interpretations of soft power and public diplomacy theories, as well as strategic narratives and communications, have developed. Through the ethnographic exploration of four case studies (Hine, 2020), the thesis aims to assess the fit between Chinese strategic narratives and communications within four international audio-visual platforms: Netflix, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. Specifically, it analyses: (i) the adherence between the Chinese Dream and the two Chinese TV series, featured in Netflix Italy’s catalogue; (ii) the relationship between the YouTube communications by XinhuaNews on the Covid-19 epidemic in China and the narrative of the 2019 White Paper entitled “China and the World in the New Era”; (iii) the rebuilding of the Chinese “brand” during the 2022 Beijing Olympics, analysing CGTN’s strategic communication on Instagram; and, finally, (iv) TikTok as the first case of the materialization of Chinese soft power through platform affordances. Or rather, working with the idea of affordances as social and value constructs (Gillespie, 2010; Hayden, 2016; 2017), the fourth section compares the platform’s characteristics and its meanings within their source context: the Chinese value and its ideological baggage. Through this research, in the chapters of this thesis, it is possible conclude by addressing the research questions and trying to understand whether and how China has used Western platforms to materialize and diffuse Chinese characteristics. note 1: Since the analysis of this case was carried out during the first outbreak of coronavirus in China – that is, from 19 January 2020 to 17 March 2020 – it would not be correct to speak of a “pandemic”, because this status had not yet been reached during the outbreak of the emergency in China. The pandemic was declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) in March 2020.
Se è vero che il potere si costruisce anche mediante il racconto che si fa dello stesso (Castells, 2009), allora il controllo del flusso informativo che riguarda le proprie azioni e la propria identità diventerà un elemento cruciale per declinare il proprio ruolo e le proprie aspirazioni, tanto per il singolo che per gli Stati. Le evoluzioni tecnologiche delle infrastrutture della comunicazione hanno offerto nuove opportunità e disponibilità di mezzi per l’informazione ufficiale pur incrementando, al contempo, la platea degli attori e delle voci in grado di fornire narrazioni capaci di condizionare il corso degli eventi e la loro interpretazione (Hayden, 2012a; Rothman, 2011). Si evolve, dunque, il rapporto tra Stato e pubblici determinando la percezione di una erosione del potere statale sostituibile, se non sostituito, da altre forme di legittimazione culturale, identitaria e relazionale. Consapevoli di quanto la rete e le sue micro-dimensioni spaziali abbiano determinato una centralità dell’immagine nel modellamento della realtà (Hartley, 2012; Gemini, 2012), si vorrà investigare come l’autorappresentazione simbolica e visuale dello Stato riesca a definirne l’identità e le sue capacità di influenza. Se, infatti, la rete consente ai suoi abitanti di immettere contenuti attraverso i servizi di social networking, ciò consente agli Stati di rafforzare una produzione di informazione secondo le proprie caratteristiche, simboliche e strumentali. Si vorrà dunque valutare come le informazioni sulla rete fungano da vettore per la costruzione reputazionale di uno Stato, così da rafforzarne la rappresentazione identitaria. Pertanto, si è deciso di impostare il lavoro a partire dal soft power e dalle sue discipline afferenti, così come interpretato ed operato nella peculiarità cinese. Specificatamente, si tratteggeranno i connotati della comprensione cinese di Stato, di politica e potere così da dettagliare il quadro contestuale nel quale si sono sviluppate le interpretazioni delle teorie di soft power e diplomazia pubblica nonché le narrazioni e comunicazioni strategiche. Attraverso l’esplorazione etnografica di quattro casi di studio (Hine, 2020), si è voluto valutare l’aderenza tra le narrazioni e comunicazioni strategiche cinesi all’interno di quattro piattaforme audio-visuali internazionali: Netflix, YouTube, Instagram e TikTok. Nello specifico si è analizzata l’aderenza tra il Sogno Cinese e le due serie tv cinesi, presenti sul catalogo di Netflix Italia; il rapporto tra la comunicazione di XinhuaNews sull’epidemia da Covid-19 in Cina e la narrazione del Libro Bianco del 2019 “La Cina e il Mondo nella Nuova Era”; il terzo caso, poi, verterà sulla ricomposizione del brand Cina durante le Olimpiadi di Pechino del 2022, analizzando la comunicazione strategica di CGTN su Instagram. In ultimo, si approfondirà TikTok come primo caso di materializzazione del soft power cinese attraverso le affordances della piattaforma. O meglio, partendo dall’idea delle affordances come costrutti sociali e valoriali (Gillespie, 2010; Hayden, 2016; 2017), si è operata una comparazione tra le caratteristiche della piattaforma e le sue significazioni all’interno del loro contesto di partenza: il bagaglio valoriale ed ideologico cinese. Da quanto esplorato, si potrà concludere il lavoro di tesi affrontando le domande di ricerca e provando a comprendere se e come la Cina abbia utilizzato le piattaforme occidentali per materializzare e diffondere le caratteristiche cinesi. nota 1.Poiché l’analisi del caso è stata svolta durante la prima esplosione del coronavirus in Cina - quindi dal 19 gennaio 2020 al 17 marzo 2020 - non sarebbe corretto parlare di pandemia in quanto, allo scoppio dell’emergenza cinese, non si era ancora delineato il quadro pandemico. Infatti, dichiarato dall’Organizzazione Mondiale della Sanità (OMS) solamente nel marzo 2020.
Piattaformizzare il potere. L’uso strategico del soft power dalle caratteristiche cinesi.
DONATO, VALERIA
2023
Abstract
Since it is true that power is also constructed through the narratives that recount it (Castells, 2009), then controlling the flow of information concerning an individual or a State’s actions and identity is certainly fundamental to defining and elaborating their own role and aspirations. Technological evolutions in communication infrastructures have provided new opportunities and a new availability of the means for official information, while at the same time increasing the array of actors and voices who provide the narratives that condition the course of events and their interpretation (Hayden, 2012a; Rothman, 2011). The relationship between the State and the public can therefore potentially evolve thanks to these means, creating the perception of an erosion of State power, in turn replaced, if not superseded, by other forms of cultural, identity and relational legitimization. Having recognized the extent to which the internet and its spatial micro-dimensions have centralized the image in way reality is shaped (Hartley, 2012; Gemini, 2012), the aim of this thesis is to investigate how the State’s symbolic and visual self-representation succeeds in defining its identity and its capacity for influence. Since, indeed, the internet allows citizens to upload content on social networks, the same potential allows States to reinforce symbolic and instrumental information-production according to their own characteristics. As such, the aim here is to assess how information on the internet acts as a vector for the reputational construction of a State, so as to strengthen its identity representation. Specifically, the thesis concentrates on soft power and its afferent disciplines, as interpreted and operated in one specific national context: China. Specifically, the connotations of the Chinese understanding of State, politics and power will be sketched out, so as to detail the contextual framework in which interpretations of soft power and public diplomacy theories, as well as strategic narratives and communications, have developed. Through the ethnographic exploration of four case studies (Hine, 2020), the thesis aims to assess the fit between Chinese strategic narratives and communications within four international audio-visual platforms: Netflix, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. Specifically, it analyses: (i) the adherence between the Chinese Dream and the two Chinese TV series, featured in Netflix Italy’s catalogue; (ii) the relationship between the YouTube communications by XinhuaNews on the Covid-19 epidemic in China and the narrative of the 2019 White Paper entitled “China and the World in the New Era”; (iii) the rebuilding of the Chinese “brand” during the 2022 Beijing Olympics, analysing CGTN’s strategic communication on Instagram; and, finally, (iv) TikTok as the first case of the materialization of Chinese soft power through platform affordances. Or rather, working with the idea of affordances as social and value constructs (Gillespie, 2010; Hayden, 2016; 2017), the fourth section compares the platform’s characteristics and its meanings within their source context: the Chinese value and its ideological baggage. Through this research, in the chapters of this thesis, it is possible conclude by addressing the research questions and trying to understand whether and how China has used Western platforms to materialize and diffuse Chinese characteristics. note 1: Since the analysis of this case was carried out during the first outbreak of coronavirus in China – that is, from 19 January 2020 to 17 March 2020 – it would not be correct to speak of a “pandemic”, because this status had not yet been reached during the outbreak of the emergency in China. The pandemic was declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) in March 2020.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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Tesi_Valeria Donato.pdf
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Descrizione: Piattaformizzare il potere. L’uso strategico del soft power dalle caratteristiche cinesi
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DT
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