Weibo as an Ideological Space: Cultural Hegemony and Virtual Civil Society

Journal of Media Studies, Vol 32, No 2 (2017)

Weibo as an Ideological Space: Cultural Hegemony and Virtual Civil Society

Zhang Daojian

Abstract

Antonio Gramsci‟s Theories of Cultural Hegemony are used as a methodology to analyze ideological struggles on Weibo in China. Gramsci „s argument is that the Civil Society is the field of negotiations between the state and individuals, where a governing power wins consent to its rule from those it subjugates. In China, the civil society is very weak but since 2012 Weibo has exercised some functions as a "virtual civil society". The author tries to elaborate the political and cultural functions of Weibo in Chinese political context.

References

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