Replication Data for: The Rule of Discourse: How Ideas and Discourses Shape China’s Zero-COVID Policy

Replication Data for: The Rule of Discourse: How Ideas and Discourses Shape China’s Zero-COVID Policy. Abstract: How can a controversial policy be effectively implemented and sustained over an extended period? We study this research question from the perspective of discursive institutionalism, using China’s zero-COVID policy as a case. We develop a typology that depicts China’s discursive engineering project featuring a multifaceted and adaptable nature. By analyzing Weibo posts published by Chinese state-led media accounts, we identify four types of political discourse that have prevailed: ideological, imperative, directive, and communicative discourse. The analysis from topic modeling and error correction models highlights the roles of both imperative and directive discourse in China’s COVID-19 policy, while the imperative discourse strengthened the control policy consistently across regions. This paper also sheds light on the mechanism by which the political discourse signals of the party-state reach mid-level bureaucrats, especially in the context of a public health crisis where the rule of law is further weakened.