[Air-L] New Book Annoucement

[Rongbin Han]

Dear all,

I am delighted to share that my book *Make China Great Again: Online
Alt-History Fiction and Popular Authoritarianism* has recently come out
with Columbia UP. It is the first book that studies China's Internet from
the perspective of authoritarian legitimation.

On the Chinese internet, millions of writers and readers fantasize about
going back in time and changing their country’s fate. One envisions saving
the Southern Song Dynasty from the Mongols and turning China into a
capitalist democracy. Another portrays a contemporary traveling to 1905 and
sparking a communist revolution before the Chinese Communist Party was even
founded. These stories share a theme of national revival that echoes both
the official narrative of the “Chinese dream” and populist movements around
the world. Why is alt-history so popular in China, and what does it reveal
about politics and culture under authoritarianism? This book examines the
production and consumption of online alt-history fiction in China, offering
new insight into how authoritarian rule gains popular consent. Combining
in-depth digital ethnography with analysis of dozens of alt-history novels,
it explores how state intervention, market forces, and consumer preferences
interact. It argues that citizens play a crucial role in constructing and
maintaining the state’s dominance. Introducing readers to the uncanny world
of alt-history, this book underscores how aspirations for the rebirth of
the nation can bolster undemocratic politics—in China and elsewhere.

The book is available on multiple platforms including Amazon. If you order
it from the publisher, use CUP20 to get 20% off.
Make China Great Again | Columbia University Press
<https://cup.columbia.edu/book/make-china-great-again/9780231220552/>
Amazon.com: Make China Great Again: Online Alt-History Fiction and Popular
Authoritarianism: 9780231220552: Han, Rongbin: Books
<https://www.amazon.com/Make-China-Great-Again-Authoritarianism/dp/0231220553/>

Thank you for your time and attention! I hope you will find the book
relevant and interesting.

Rongbin
____
Rongbin Han
Professor
Department of International Affairs
University of Georgia
*Make China Great Again
<https://cup.columbia.edu/book/make-china-great-again/9780231220545/>*
(Columbia
UP, 2026)
*Contesting Cyberspace in China
<https://cup.columbia.edu/book/contesting-cyberspace-in-china/9780231184755>*
(Columbia
UP, 2018)
*Directed Digital Dissidence in Autocracies
<https://global.oup.com/academic/product/directed-digital-dissidence-in-autocracies-9780197680384>*
 (Oxford UP, 2023) with J. Gainous, A. MacDonald, and K. Wagner
*The Xi Jinping Effect
<https://uwapress.uw.edu/book/9780295752815/the-xi-jinping-effect/>* (U.
Washington Press, 2024), co-edited with A. Esarey
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://listserv.aoir.org/pipermail/air-l-aoir.org/attachments/20260408/9fc49036/attachment.htm>