Does the public in a rising authoritarian power overestimate their country’s reputation, power, and influence? This research uses three studies conducted around and after the COVID-19 pandemic to document whether Chinese citizens overestimate China’s global reputation and soft power, and whether simple information about actual international opinion can correct those perceptions and influence related evaluations.
Chinese public perceptions Soft power overestimation Information correction effects
Data and methods
The author reports three studies run during and after the COVID-19 pandemic with measures of citizens’ beliefs about China’s international reputation, influence, and soft power. The replication data are archived alongside the article. The abstract describes experimental information interventions that presented respondents with evidence about actual international public opinion.
Main findings
Across the studies, the Chinese public systematically overestimated China’s global reputation and soft power. Informing respondents about actual international opinion substantially corrected those misperceptions and produced moderate changes in how they evaluated China, its governing system, and expectations for China’s global role. The abstract notes these effects are not fleeting in the studies reported.
- Overestimation of international reputation and soft power was widespread even during a national crisis.
- Simple informational treatments reduced overconfidence and produced modest downstream effects on evaluations and expectations.
