Critical Nationalists: A Discourse Analysis of Quotidian Nationalist Expression Among Chinese Elite Urbanites

ABSTRACT This study systematically examines, deconstructs, and maps the quotidian nationalist discourse among Chinese netizens and analyzes their ‘liking’ behavior on the social media platform, Zhihu, in order to investigate what and how they talk about nationalism. The analysis of the quotidian expression of nationalism marks a shift from the previous practice of relying on high-profile nationalist movements as evidence which may create an incomplete or inaccurate impression that much of Chinese nationalism is virulent and over-zealous. This study finds that Zhihu users are critical nationalists who are competitive but judicious. The existence of levelheaded nationalists in China’s online space suggests the limits of strident nationalist contagion and nationalist mobilization.