Disappearing Research: Academic Control and Self-Censorship in China

Abstract

How does state censorship contribute to self-censorship in Chinese universities? How does self-censorship in turn affect academic output? This article addresses these questions by unveiling the mechanisms of self-censorship and investigating their impact on social science research in and about China. First, we draw on in-depth interviews with scholars and students affiliated with Chinese universities to develop a typology of the mechanisms of self-censorship. Second, we analyze over 5,000 hand-coded publications of scholars based at US and Chinese universities from 1985 to 2022 to determine the consequences of self-censorship for the production of knowledge. The findings reveal which research topics have “disappeared” over time and which have “migrated” from Chinese- to English-language venues, often leading to broader self-censorship outcomes than the regime intended. Additionally, we find that US-based scholars are not immune to these pressures. These findings contribute to scholarship on authoritarianism, (self-)censorship, and academic freedom.