IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0327848.html

Instrumental strategies and symbolic legitimacy: analyzing government information disclosure security policies in China

Author

Listed:
  • Ling Chen
  • Lianjian Deng

Abstract

This study explores how the Chinese government manages the trade-off between transparency and national security through the design of government information disclosure (GID) security policies. Based on a qualitative analysis of 259 policy documents issued at central, provincial, and prefectural levels between 2007 and 2024, we construct a two-dimensional framework that integrates policy instrument types (supply, environmental, demand) with policy content stages (readiness, implementation, impact). The findings reveal an overreliance on environmental-type instruments—especially during implementation—and underuse of demand-oriented tools that support public participation and accountability. Through the lens of Governmental Power Marketing (GPM), we interpret this instrument selection not only as a technical response but as a symbolic strategy to project institutional competence and legitimacy. This study contributes to digital governance literature by linking content analysis with political communication theory, offering both an analytical framework and comparative insights applicable to other regimes facing similar transparency-security dilemmas.

Suggested Citation

  • Ling Chen & Lianjian Deng, 2025. "Instrumental strategies and symbolic legitimacy: analyzing government information disclosure security policies in China," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 20(7), pages 1-19, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0327848
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0327848
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0327848
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0327848&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0327848?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Roy Rothwell & Walter Zegveld, 1984. "An Assessment Of Government Innovation Policies," Review of Policy Research, Policy Studies Organization, vol. 3(3‐4), pages 436-444, May.
    2. Sue Peattie & Ken Peattie & Robyn Thomas, 2012. "Social Marketing as Transformational Marketing in Public Services," Public Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(7), pages 987-1010, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yunhui Wang & Yihua Chen & Zhiying Li, 2024. "Escaping poverty: changing characteristics of China’s rural poverty reduction policy and future trends," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-14, December.
    2. Boyao Zhang & Liping Xu, 2025. "Research on Policy Optimization for Coordinated Development of Digital Content Industry in China’s Yangtze River Delta Region—Based on the PMC-Index Model," SAGE Open, , vol. 15(3), pages 21582440251, September.
    3. Jun Wang & Baomin Wang, 2025. "A Systemic Evaluation of Energy Digital Transformation Policies for the G20 Group of Countries: A Four-Dimensional Framework and Cross-National Quantitative Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(20), pages 1-27, October.
    4. Yuecheng Jian & Yanshan Gao & Xinyu Cao & Nana Peng & Chao Yang & Xiaoxiu Lun & Qiang Wang, 2024. "Research on Evolution and Recommendations of China’s PM 2.5 and O 3 Pollution Control Policies under the Carbon Peak and Carbon Neutrality Targets," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(15), pages 1-19, August.
    5. Hongjian Yu & Xiufan Zhang, 2024. "Are carbon emissions trading and green financial instruments synergistic? -Comprehensive quantitative research based on content analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 19(3), pages 1-30, March.
    6. Qiaoqiao Zhan & Katsunori Furuya & Xiaolan Tang & Zhehui Li, 2024. "Policy Development in China’s Protected Scenic and Historic Areas," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-24, February.
    7. Shijia Zhang & Xiaojuan Cao, 2025. "Different pathways, same goal: configuring different types of policy tools to improve the urban land green use efficiency," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(1), pages 1-15, December.
    8. Zihao Xu & Xiangyun Chang & Ning Zhang, 2025. "An analysis of China’s power battery industry policy for new energy vehicles from a product life cycle perspective," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 27(6), pages 13093-13115, June.
    9. Chen, Kaihua & Xue, Zehua & Guo, Rui & Ning, Lutao, 2025. "The holistic role of multi-level government in transformative innovation process: Theoretical framework and evidence from China," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    10. Jun Wu & Yuanjie Zhang & Zhun Shi, 2021. "Crafting a Sustainable Next Generation Infrastructure: Evaluation of China’s New Infrastructure Construction Policies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-18, June.
    11. Nan Zhang & Xiaochu Tian & Zhiguo Ma, 2026. "The Coordination of China’s Intellectual Property Policies: A Quantitative Analysis Based on Policy Texts," SAGE Open, , vol. 16(1), pages 21582440261, February.
    12. Weisheng Mao & Yexi Zhong, 2024. "The Influence of Demand-Based Policy Instruments on Urban Innovation Quality—Evidence from 269 Cities in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-16, March.
    13. Chunning Wang & Yifen Yin & Haoqian Hu & Yuanyuan Yu, 2025. "Evaluating China’s New Energy Vehicle Policy Networks: A Social Network Analysis of Policy Coordination and Market Impact," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(3), pages 1-21, January.
    14. Zhen Wang & Hongmei Shao & Bo Chao & Tai Yang, 2025. "Policy Evolution of China’s Critical Metals: An Integrated Analysis of Instruments and Networks," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(20), pages 1-23, October.
    15. Ani MATEI & Corina-Georgiana ANTONOVICI & Carmen SAVULESCU, 2015. "Innovative Public Marketing As Instrument For Creating The Social Value," Journal of Public Administration, Finance and Law, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, vol. 0(Special i), pages 21-34, September.
    16. Cai Yueyue & Nor Akmar Nordin & Siti Aisyah Panatik, 2024. "A Textual Analysis of the Chinese Global Talent Management Policy: From a Policy Instruments Perspective," SAGE Open, , vol. 14(4), pages 21582440241, December.
    17. Chu-Chi Kuo & Joseph Z. Shyu, 2021. "A Cross-National Comparative Policy Analysis of the Blockchain Technology between the USA and China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-18, June.
    18. Magnus Henrekson & Christian Sandström & Mikael Stenkula, 2024. "Moonshots and the New Industrial Policy: Questioning the Mission Economy," International Studies in Entrepreneurship, in: Magnus Henrekson & Christian Sandström & Mikael Stenkula (ed.), Moonshots and the New Industrial Policy, pages 3-28, Springer.
    19. Yifei Zhou, 2024. "Analysis of Zero-Waste City Policy in China: Based on Three-Dimensional Framework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(24), pages 1-15, December.
    20. Zhang, Huiming & Huang, Jiying & Hu, Ruohan & Zhou, Dequn & Khan, Haroon ur Rashid & Ma, Changxian, 2020. "Echelon utilization of waste power batteries in new energy vehicles: Review of Chinese policies," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 206(C).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0327848. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.