The Sound of Silence: Championing Democracy in an Authoritarian Society
2026-05-27
Does democratic public diplomacy work in authoritarian societies and, if so, when? I investigate the impact of the US Embassy in China’s online advocacy of American democracy through two survey experiments conducted during the first Trump administration. The results show that American public diplomacy can improve Chinese audiences’ attitudes toward the United States, not in relatively normal times but when the US international image is under threat. This novel finding suggests that public diplomacy may function more as a “shield” to maintain residual credibility than as a “sword” for proactive influence, expanding our understanding of how public diplomacy works. At the same time, the embassy’s messaging had little effect on Chinese audiences’ attitudes toward democracy, views on China, or behavioral intentions such as protest, regardless of the US image. This general silence greeting the democratic sound underscores the challenges of democracy promotion in a rising authoritarian power, at least in the short term, while also undermining authoritarian governments’ frequent attempts to blame domestic grievances on “foreign forces.” The findings illuminate both the potential and limits of democratic public diplomacy.