Challenging Western Legal Orientalism: A Comparative Analysis of Chinese Municipal Social Credit Systems

8 European Journal of Comparative Law and Governance 46-85 (2021)

35 Pages Posted: 18 Jan 2023

See all articles by Marta Infantino

Marta Infantino

University of Trieste

Weiwei Wang

Università degli Studi di Udine; University of Trieste

Date Written: 2021

Abstract

In 2014 the Chinese State Council announced the establishment of a nationwide comprehensive social credit system. Western narratives often describe the initiative as a technologically enhanced tool of autocratic control for scoring people. Yet, as the paper aims to show, similar accounts are tainted by several misunderstandings which perpetuate Western orientalist postures towards Chinese law.

For the purpose of comparatively assessing the Chinese social credit system, the paper analyses the pilot programs set up to monitor people and enterprises’ behaviour by twenty-eight Chinese cities. The analysis will demonstrate that these pilot programs rely on low-tech methodologies, have limited strings attached, and are based on a relatively transparent legal framework. From a comparative perspective, our findings suggest that Chinese cities’ experiments raise problems that are similar to those posed by measurement practices widely employed in the West.

Keywords: legal Orientalism; Chinese law; social credit system; rating; nudging; quantification; model cities

JEL Classification: K

Suggested Citation

Infantino, Marta and Wang, Weiwei, Challenging Western Legal Orientalism: A Comparative Analysis of Chinese Municipal Social Credit Systems ( 2021). 8 European Journal of Comparative Law and Governance 46-85 (2021), Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4325216 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4325216

Marta Infantino (Contact Author)

University of Trieste ( email )

Piazzale Europa, 1
Trieste, Trieste 34100
Italy

Weiwei Wang

Università degli Studi di Udine ( email )

Italy

University of Trieste ( email )

Italy

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