Why do authoritarian regimes charge political opponents with non-political crimes when they can levy charges directly related to opponents' political activism? Using experimental and observational data from China, we find that disguising repression by charging opponents with non-political crimes undermines the moral authority of opponents, minimizing backlash and mobilization while increasing public support for repression.

Stanford Center on China’s Economy and Institutions (SCCEI) is pleased to present a lecture by Jennifer Pan, Sir Robert Ho Tung Professor of Chinese Studies, Professor of Communication and (by courtesy) Political Science, and a Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute, who will be speaking on Disguised Repression: Targeting Opponents with Non-Political Crimes to Undermine Dissent. The event opens with a welcome reception at 4:00 pm, followed by the lecture and discussion with Jennifer Pan and Hongbin Li, SCCEI Co-director and James Liang Endowed Chair, beginning at 4:45 pm.

Registration is required for admission. This event will be recorded.

About the Speaker

Jennifer Pan is a political scientist whose research focuses on political communication, digital media, and authoritarian politics. She is the Sir Robert Ho Tung Professor of Chinese Studies, Professor of Communication and (by courtesy) Political Science, and a Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute. Pan's research uses experimental and computational methods with large-scale datasets on political activity to answer questions about the role of digital media in authoritarian and democratic politics, including how political censorship, propaganda, and information manipulation work in the digital age and how preferences and behaviors are shaped as a result. Her papers have appeared in peer reviewed publications such as the American Political Science Review, American Journal of Political Science, Journal of Politics, Political Communication, and Science. She graduated from Princeton University, summa cum laude, and received her Ph.D. from Harvard University’s Department of Government.