Marketing Dictatorship

Anne-Marie Brady is an authority on Beijing's efforts to attract favorable attention to itself. . . . The central thesis of her path-breaking book is ultimately convincing. * Wall Street Journal Asia *
Propaganda is one of the most important domains in the Chinese party-state. . . . As Anne-Marie Brady demonstrates in a superb study of this central and hidden part of the Chinese system, the surface diversity of the Chinese media hides the guiding hand of a high-level Party office in Beijing called the Central Propaganda Department, which works its will across the whole spectrum of activities in media, education, entertainment—and also in sports. . . . The Beijing Olympics have never been anything but a conscious part of this strategy—what Brady calls a campaign of mass distraction. * New Republic *
A hugely interesting and important book. In a concise 230 pages it explains how since 1989 the Chinese Communist Party has renewed, extended and strengthened its propaganda apparatus. * China Economic Quarterly *
This is a fine study of Chinese domestic and foreign propaganda. . . . The book is well organized. . . . Her research is extensive and up-to-date. The volume should be part of any collection with a focus on mass communications, China studies, or even political science in general. . . . Recommended. * CHOICE *
The best and most current study on [the Chinese propaganda system], and is a welcome addition to our understanding of the evolving party-state in China. . . . A much-needed assessment of the often 'invisible hand' guiding what Chinese citizens are permitted to know and how they know it. -- David Shambaugh, The George Washington University and The Brookings Institution * China Quarterly *
In a year of unprecedented media coverage of China, Anne-Marie Brady has written a timely book about the Chinese media. She has done much to demystify an understudied topic. . . . The book's most important contribution is to shed light on the institutions, laws and practices which trammel Chinese media. . . . Brady's work deserves much admiration. . . . Marketing Dictatorship is a useful source of information for students of Chinese politics, and an invaluable resource for scholars of the Chinese media. -- Ashley Esarey * The China Journal *
Anne-Marie Brady . . . has produced an authoritative book on [China's] Central Propaganda Department. -- Evan Osnos * The New Yorker *
This fascinating book reveals how China's propaganda machine has reinvented itself and today employs a range of sophisticated PR techniques to mold Chinese public opinion. Read this to understand how the Communist Party has strengthened its hold in China. -- Jonathan Unger, Australian National University