Replication Data for: Asserting Cyber Authority: China’s Securitization of Cyberspace Governance

The Chinese government’s internet regulatory policies have been strengthened after Xi Jinping’s coming to power, despite its cybersecurity measures already meeting the needs of the government in the previous era. Why did Xi's regime tighten and securitize internet regulations despite existing stringent measures? In this paper, we address this question using the Copenhagen School’s theory of securitization. Analyzing official documents from China’s government and related propaganda, we explore the intensification of national security discourse in the government’s approach to regulating China’s online activities from 2013 to 2023. The aim of this securitization process is to justify employing more intensive measures for digital surveillance and cybersecurity management than the policies previously taken, prioritizing national security. Corresponding with the securitization process, certain security-focused issues have also taken on a more forward presence in the social media sphere. We suggest that examining this case with the securitization framework sheds new light on China’s state-centric approach to the control and surveillance of cyberspace. The files in this page contain (1) A qualitative dataset that records the national security discourses expressed in four different types of official documents published by the Chinese government, (2) a qualitative dataset that summarizes and aggregates the tone rhethroics of the said national security statements, and (3) a R file with procedure to visualize the national security focuses and types of issues being recorded in official documents.