Review

“Daniela Stockmann’s Media Commercialization and Authoritarian Rule in China is a superb, comprehensive, and multi-method analysis of the introduction of market forces in Chinese media. By communicating from the bottom up as well as from the top down, Stockmann argues that market-based media provide regime stability rather than simply a democratizing force for change in China. She enriches our understanding of China’s dynamic media environment by making cogent comparisons to trends in other authoritarian regimes. These comparisons reveal the importance of institutional factors in determining the impact of media commercialization.”
Ann N. Crigler, University of Southern California

“Apart from cogent theorization that spans across several social science disciplines and a coherent theoretical framework that summarizes the insights of the work, the range of the original and secondary data and quality of data analysis make this work an excellent example of mixed methods and interdisciplinary research. The broad application of theories from other social science disciplines will be an inspiring example for scholars with similar interests. Stockmann’s detailed accounts of data collection, as well as her discussions of data quality and its effects on inference, will be valuable for both graduate students and junior scholars.”
Dan Chen, Journal of Chinese Political Science

“… a significant contribution to the literature on changing media-state relations in China. Readers of the book should find their reading time well spent.”
Francis L. F. Lee, Pacific Affairs