ABSTRACT

Social media use for political contention in contemporary China has become a key focus in social movement studies. Nevertheless, the scholarship remains dominated by case studies of discrete, isolated contentious events, failing to observe the possible long-term effect of social media on political contention and society at large. To advance such an understanding, this study employs the concept of the “repertoire of contention” (Tilly 1986) to investigate how Chinese people perceive and use social media (such as Weibo, WeChat, and online encyclopaedia). It takes environmental activism – a series of anti-petrochemical protests in six cities from 2007 to 2014 – as a case to explore people’s perception of the use of social media for political contention. This research demonstrates the evolving role of social media in repertoires of contention. It concludes by arguing that research must go beyond specific cases to scrutinize the long-term consequences of the growing importance of social media for contemporary protest.