In times of crisis: Public perceptions toward COVID-19 contact tracing apps in China, Germany, and the United States

he adoption of COVID-19 contact tracing apps (CTAs) has been proposed as an important measure to contain the spread of COVID-19. Based on a cross-national dataset, this article analyzes public perceptions toward CTAs and the factors that drive CTA acceptance in China, Germany, and the United States. We find that public acceptance of CTAs is significantly higher in China as compared with Germany and the United States. Despite very different sociopolitical contexts, there are striking similarities in the factors that drive CTA acceptance in all three countries. Citizens are willing to accept digital contact tracing despite concerns about privacy infringement and government surveillance, as long as the apps are perceived as effective in lowering infection rates and providing health information. This creates a chicken-and-egg problem for CTAs in Germany and the United States where CTAs are voluntary: a high citizen adoption rate is necessary for CTAs to be effective, but CTAs are only effective if adoption rates are high

Topologies of power in China’s grid-style social management during the COVID-19 pandemic

This article analyses the organization of Chinese grassroots social management during the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on a range of local cases researched through policy documents, media coverage and interviews, we scrutinize the appropriation of emergency measures and the utilization of grid-style social management since the outbreak of COVID-19. Grid-style social management – a new grassroots administrative division aiming to mobilize neighbourhood control and services – is a core element in China’s pursuit of economic growth without sacrificing political stability. Conceptualizing grids as confined spaces of power, we show how the Chinese party-state is able to flexibly redeploy diverse forms of power depending on the particular purpose of social management. During non-crisis times, grid-style social management primarily uses security power, casting a net over the population that remains open for population elements to contribute their share to the national economy. Once a crisis has been called, sovereign power swiftly closes the net to prevent further circulation while disciplinary power works towards a speedy return to a pre-crisis routine

The Shadow of China over Taiwan's Democracy

Introduction to Journal of Current Chinese Affairs 1/2017: Assessing the Administration of President Ma Ying-jeo

Sharing is caring: willingness to share personal data through contact tracing apps in China, Germany, and the US

Are citizens more willing to share private data in (health) crises? We study citizens’ willingness to share personal data through COVID-19 contact tracing apps (CTAs). Based on a cross-national online survey with 6,464 respondents from China, Germany, and the US, we find considerable variation in how and what data respondents are willing to share through CTAs. Drawing on the privacy calculus theory and the trade-off model of privacy and security, we find that during the COVID-19 pandemic, crisis perceptions seem to have only limited influence on people’s willingness to share personal data through CTAs. The findings further show that the data type to be shared determines the suitability of the privacy calculus theory to explain people’s willingness to transfer personal data: the theory can explain the willingness to share sensitive data, but cannot explain the willingness to share less sensitive data

Emotions, crisis, and institutions: Explaining compliance with COVID-19 regulations

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, citizens' compliance with government preventive measures was one of the top policy priorities for governments worldwide. This study engages with socio-legal and psychological theories on compliance and proposes an analytical framework to explore the role of different psychological factors on individual-level compliance during global health crises. Using the results of three national surveys, we argue that various negative emotional states, perceptions of the ongoing crisis, and of the institutional settings are major factors influencing individual compliance across countries. Most importantly, while increased panic, anxiety, and sadness lead to higher compliance, rising anger, loneliness, and impatience decrease compliance levels. Notably, perceptions of the COVID-19 crisis—especially health concerns and a worsening financial situation—tend to elicit anger among citizens across countries, thereby further hampering their obedience with pandemic regulations. Furthermore, perceptions of public institutions also influence individual compliance. Overall, in order to ensure compliance, we suggest that policymakers and those implementing government measures take individual psychological factors into account both within and beyond the public crisis context

Socio-Economic Development and Infrastructure Cost Performance in China: Comparing Transport and Energy Sectors

Socio-economic development is often linked to efficient infrastructure provision. In China, the government has rolled out ambitious infrastructure projects as part of its national development strategy. There is much to praise about China's infrastructure provision, such as its remarkable scale and speed of infrastructure delivery. However, based on studying 153 infrastructure cases between 1983 and 2018 and two in-depth case studies, we find that China's infrastructure performance is not as positive as often assumed. We show that infrastructure projects continuously arrive significantly over budget. We argue that this cost performance depends - similar to Western countries - on inaccurately anticipating technical hindrances and geographical challenges. In addition, however, we identify another important and so far less discussed project performance determinant specifically relevant to the Chinese context: population resettlements and land acquisition

Emotions, crisis, and institutions: Explaining compliance with COVID‐19 regulations

Amid the COVID‐19 pandemic, citizens' compliance with government preventive measures was one of the top policy priorities for governments worldwide. This study engages with socio‐legal and psychological theories on compliance and proposes an analytical framework to explore the role of different psychological factors on individual‐level compliance during global health crises. Using the results of three national surveys, we argue that various negative emotional states, perceptions of the ongoing crisis, and of the institutional settings are major factors influencing individual compliance across countries. Most importantly, while increased panic, anxiety, and sadness lead to higher compliance, rising anger, loneliness, and impatience decrease compliance levels. Notably, perceptions of the COVID‐19 crisis—especially health concerns and a worsening financial situation—tend to elicit anger among citizens across countries, thereby further hampering their obedience with pandemic regulations. Furthermore, perceptions of public institutions also influence individual compliance. Overall, in order to ensure compliance, we suggest that policymakers and those implementing government measures take individual psychological factors into account both within and beyond the public crisis context