TY  - JOUR
AU  - Zhang, Hanxiao
JF  - Javnost-The Public
TI  - The Reconfiguration of Rural Public Authority: Village Officials and Affective Governance on Douyin in China
VL  - 33
IS  - 2
PY  - 2026
SN  - 1854-8377
PB  - EURICOM
UR  - https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22115695
N2  - This article examines how village officials in China mobilise affective governance as a platform-mediated technique for reconfiguring rural public authority on Douyin. Drawing on interviews with 11 village officials and an iterative analysis of 220 short videos and related livestreaming practices, it shows how village officials mobilise intimacy, self-sacrifice, and public-minded authenticity to perform three interrelated functions: constructing everyday public authority, rendering policy work and governance performance legible to local publics, and framing commercial practices as public service. The article argues that platformisation reshapes the conditions under which grassroots state power becomes visible, relatable, and publicly recognisable in rural acquaintance-based society. In this process, village officials increasingly operate through a hybrid logic that combines bureaucratic authority with influencer-style self-presentation. While such practices can enhance the visibility and responsiveness of grassroots governance, they also generate tensions around performative intimacy, the commercialisation of public service, and the remaking of professional authority.
U1  - Print ISSN: 1318-3222
ER  -