ENGINEERING

The Social Credit System (SCS) is an ambitious social engineering project by the Chinese state. Driven by narratives of a society-wide crisis of trust and morality, the project is intertwined with other social engineering efforts, such as the civilized behavior campaign and state-led volunteering. Together, these governance programs constitute key components of the Chinese information state and its governance model.

How and why did the narratives of crisis emerge? To what extent are they perceived in society? In what directions are these social engineering programs evolving? How do they shape—and how are they shaped by—the perceptions and behaviors of state and society? How do they fit into—or challenge—global debates on privacy and surveillance? These are the central questions the ENGINEERING project aims to address.

The project is generously funded by a Horizon 2020 Consolidator Grant by the European Research Council