ICT-based environmental participation in China: Same, same but digital?

Abstract

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have been credited with the potential to alter the dynamics of environmental governance by empowering citizens, enhancing accountability and improving government efficiency. However, in non-democratic contexts the link between ICTs and public participation is far from clear. Taking the case of China, this study investigates urban Chinese citizens’ use of digital technologies for environmental participation and the factors explaining (non)engagement. Drawing on an online survey with 2912 participants in 2021, we find surprisingly high levels of participation that is not hampered by regime-related factors such as trust in governmental institutions or concerns about the risks of taking action online. This shows that digital technologies have significant participatory potential also under restrictive conditions. However, our findings also show several major limitations of ICTs. Participation in our study is driven by citizens who are digitally skilled, environmentally concerned and also active in the offline sphere. This points, first, to a digital participation opportunity gap that could exclude the less digitally skilled and tech-savvy. Second, this supports the “reinforcement hypothesis” that ICTs are used by the already active and do not suffice to draw new social groups into the policy process. Third, in our study digital environmental participation is limited by citizens’ attribution of responsibility to the government, an unintended consequence of China’s “environmental authoritarianism” that curtails ICTs from unfolding their full potential. Together, our findings contribute to the debate on digital authoritarianism and the opportunities and limitations of ICTs for environmental participation in non-democratic contexts.