Graduation Year
Spring 2012
Document Type
Open Access Senior Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Politics and International Relations
Second Department
Asian Studies
Reader 1
Mona G. Mehta
Reader 2
Minxin Pei
Terms of Use & License Information
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 License
Rights Information
© 2012 Emily Alice Chesbrough
Abstract
Freedom of speech is a right guaranteed by the US, the EU, and China; however, just because a right is guaranteed does not mean the government cannot manipulate the right to achieve its ends. Freedom of speech is commonly associated with the power of language; citizens speak in order to take control of those governing them, in order to assert their desires. In reality, freedom of speech is far more beneficial for governments, who can use this dissent to better control a population. In order to control the population, though, the governments must first control the dissenting speech, the discourse, surrounding an issue. In the case studies that follow, these three governments with very different regimes will manipulate discourses elicited in the name of free speech in order to advance the governments’ plans, even when these plans went against the stated public interest and ignored the dissenting citizens. This thesis, in essence, examines how freedom of speech can become a tool of power for regimes.
Recommended Citation
Chesbrough, Emily Alice, "Freedom of Speech through the Looking Glass: Reflections on the Governance of Political Discourse in China, the United States, and the European Union" (2012). Scripps Senior Theses. 93.
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/scripps_theses/93
Chapter 2 Data Figures 1-3
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Chapter 2 Data Figure 4
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