Review of: Engaging Social Media in China, edited by Guobin Yang and Wei Wang. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 2021. 352 pp. US$49.95 (paper), US$49.95 (e-book).

Recognizing that too much of the literature on digital politics in China leans on the “state vs. society” lens, the editors of this interesting volume set out to concentrate work on the technical side of China’s internet. With the goal in mind of seeing how technical issues line up with politics, the book provides a nuanced analysis of recent state-sponsored “platformization” – the consolidation of the mainstream Chinese internet to a handful of powerful apps. The contributors to the volume explore the links between politics, commerce, and technology in an often insightful way, though the chapters vary in quality.