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Assoz. Prof. Dipl.-Sozialwiss. Dr. Heinz Christoph Steinhardt
Heinz Christoph Steinhardt

Consultation hours: Upon appointment via email.



Steinhardt, H. C., Lu, J., & Hsu, C. L. (Accepted/In press). External Rewards or Intrinsic Desire? The Motivations Behind State-Led Volunteering in China. Chinese Journal of Sociology.


Steinhardt, H. C., & Yang, K. (2024). Value-Driven Contention in China: Forms, Tactics and State Responses. China Quarterly: an international journal for the study of China, 1-18. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305741024001085






Steinhardt, H. C. (2021). COVID-19 in Germany: Learning to Dance with the Virus. In L. C. Li (Ed.), Facts and Analysis : Canvassing COVID-19 Responses City University of Hong Kong Press.










Moral Engineering in 21st Century China

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker)

9 Feb 2026

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Society in Peril: The Driving Forces and Outcomes of Social Anomie Perception in China

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker)

22 Oct 2025

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Surveillance for a More Moral Society: How Moral Framing Shapes Support for State Monitoring in China

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker) & Gong, X. (Speaker)

15 Jul 2025

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Society in Peril: The Driving Forces and Outcomes of Social Anomie Perception in China

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker)

14 Jul 2025

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Society in Peril: The Driving Forces and Outcomes of Social Anomie Perception in China

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker)

11 Jun 2025

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Changes in and Determinants of Economic Optimism in China

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker) & Sicular, T. (Contributor)

30 Mar 2025

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Protecting Society from Itself: Justifying Social Credit on Chinese Social Media

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker) & Göbel, C. (Speaker)

14 Mar 2025

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


The Authoritarian Privacy Paradox: Explaining Institutional Privacy Concerns in China

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker)

5 Sept 2024

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Chasing a Phantom: A Re-evaluation of China’s “Trust Crisis”

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker)

28 Aug 2024

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Chasing a Phantom: A Re-evaluation of China’s “Trust Crisis”

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker)

20 Jun 2024

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Public


A Menacing Society and the Protective State

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker)

18 Apr 2024

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Chasing a Phantom: A Re-evaluation of China’s “Trust Crisis”

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker)

17 Apr 2024

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Value-Driven Contention in China: Forms, Tactics and State Responses

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker) & Yang, K. (Speaker)

8 Dec 2023

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science



隐私政治与隐私监管 (Privacy Politics and Regulation)

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker)

4 May 2023

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Public


Reassessing Civic Protests in China: Evidence from Protest Event Data

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker) & Yang, K. (Contributor)

16 Mar 202319 Mar 2023

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Mobilizing Social Anomie to Strengthen the State: Justification Strategies for ‘Social Credit’ on Sina Weibo

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker) & Göbel, C. (Contributor)

2 Feb 2023

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Mobilizing Social Anomie to Strengthen the State: The Social Credit System and China’s Struggle for Social Order

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker)

2 Feb 2023

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Public


Mobilizing Social Anomie to Strengthen the State: Justification Strategies for ‘Social Credit’ on Sina Weibo

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker)

6 Dec 2022

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Mobilizing Social Anomie to Strengthen the State: Justification Strategies for ‘Social Credit’ on Sina Weibo

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker) & Göbel, C. (Speaker)

4 Nov 2022

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Das politische System der Volksrepublik China

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker)

20 Sept 2022

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Public


Einparteienstaat und gesellschaftliche Transformation in der Volksrepublik China

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker)

22 Apr 2022

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Public


Is there something amiss with ethics reviews for the China Field?

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker)

26 Jun 2021

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Studying Social Media Discourse on the Chinese Social Credit System

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker)

5 Jun 2021

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Public


Information, Data Privacy and the Popular Perception of the Chinese Social Credit System

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker)

30 Nov 2019

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Better coverage, less bias: using social media to measure protest in authoritarian regimes

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker)

31 May 2019

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Alliance Building among Non-Governmental Organizations in China: The Emergence and Evolution of the Zero Waste Alliance

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker)

23 Mar 2019

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


How Good is Protest Event Data from Autocracies? A Comparison of Traditional, Dissident and Social Media Sources from China

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker)

13 Sept 2018

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


An Information Revolution? Assessing Protest Event Data from China.

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker)

21 Jun 201823 Jun 2018

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


An Information Revolution? Assessing Protest Event Data from China.

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker)

22 Mar 201825 Mar 2018

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science



Environmental Public Interest Campaigns: Outlining a New Phenomenon in China’s Contentious Politics.

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker)

1 Dec 20172 Dec 2017

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Building Environmental NGO Alliances in an Authoritarian Regime: The Emergence of the Chinese Zero Waste Alliance.

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker)

28 Nov 2017

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Environmental Public Interest Campaigns: Outlining a New Phenomenon in China’s Contentious Politics.

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker)

24 Jun 201727 Jun 2017

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Political Trust and Political Identity at the Chinese Periphery: The Identity Shift in Hong Kong since 1997.

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker), Jiang, Y. (Speaker) & Li, L. C. (Speaker)

26 Nov 2016

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Did Rapid Modernization Destroy Social Trust in China?

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker) & Delhey, J. (Speaker)

5 Nov 20166 Nov 2016

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Did Rapid Modernization Destroy Social Trust in China?

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker) & Delhey, J. (Speaker)

7 Sept 201610 Sept 2016

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Political Trust and Political Identity at the Chinese Periphery: The Identity Shift in Hong Kong since 1997.

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker), Jiang, Y. (Speaker) & Li, L. C. (Speaker)

7 Sept 201610 Sept 2016

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Did Rapid Modernization Destroy Social Trust in China?

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker) & Delhey, J. (Speaker)

1 Sept 20164 Sept 2016

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Xianggang ren de shenfen rentong bianhua [The Identity Shift in Hong Kong]

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker)

20 Jun 2016

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Discursive Accommodation: Popular Protest and Strategic Elite Communication in China.

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker)

7 Jul 2015

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Discursive Accommodation: Popular Protest and Strategic Elite Communication in China.

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker)

25 Jun 201527 Jun 2016

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Xin huanjing kangyi shijian yu zhongguo minzhong kangzheng de yanbian (New Environmental Protests and the Changing Landscape of Popular Contention in China).

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker) & Wu, F. (Speaker)

27 Nov 201428 Nov 2014

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Why People Rebel in Contemporary China? The Local State and the Popular Inclination to Protest.

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker) & Shan, W. (Speaker)

28 Aug 201431 Aug 2014

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


New Environmental Protests and the Changing Landscape of Popular Contention in China.

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker) & Wu, F. (Speaker)

17 Jul 201420 Jul 2014

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Zhongguo de xin huanjing kangzheng xin zai he chu? [What is New about New Environmental Protests in China?]

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker)

7 Jul 2014

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Public



Authoritarian Ruler Meets Contentious Society: Elite Responses to Popular Protest in Contemporary China

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker)

4 Dec 2013

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Regulating Protest Management in a One-Party State: Evidence from Contemporary China.

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker)

29 Aug 20131 Sept 2013

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Taming the Iron Fist: Fine-Tuning Coercion in the Chinese Single-Party Regime.

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker)

24 Jul 201327 Jul 2013

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Popular Activism and Evolving Elite Responses in Contemporary China.

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker)

24 Oct 201225 Oct 2012

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Grassroots Activism and Elite Response: Examining Patterns of Communication between Contentious Citizens and the Political Leadership in Contemporary China.

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker)

23 Jul 201227 Jul 2012

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Grassroots Activism and Elite Response: Examining Patterns of Communication between Contentious Citizens and the Political Leadership in Contemporary China.

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker)

4 Jul 20126 Jul 2012

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Grassroots Activism and Elite Response in Contemporary China.

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker)

28 Jun 2012

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Grassroots Activism and Elite Response in Contemporary China

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker)

12 Jun 2012

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Contesting ‘Social Stability:’ Understanding the Dynamics of Grassroots Activism and Intellectual Critique in China.

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker)

26 May 201227 May 2012

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Protest Events, a Harmonious Society, and the Transformation of Discourse on Popular Protest in China: A Preliminary Assessment.

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker)

20 Jun 201123 Jun 2011

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Speaking about the Unspeakable: The Politics of Signifying Popular Protest in the People’s Republic of China.

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker)

21 Feb 2011

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Protest Media Events and the Transformation of Public Discourse on Popular Protest in China. China Chat.

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker)

16 Feb 2011

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Speaking about the Unspeakable: Protest Discourse in the Chinese Party-State.

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker)

20 Jul 200924 Jul 2009

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Speaking about the Unspeakable: Protest Discourse in the Chinese Party-State.

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker)

3 Jul 20095 Jul 2009

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Trusting Citizens in a non-trusting Culture? A Probe into the ‘Mysterious’ Appearance of Generalized Trust in Chinese Societies.

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker)

13 Nov 200815 Nov 2008

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Political Trust and Legitimacy in the People’s Republic of China: Performance or Culture?

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker)

3 Apr 20086 Apr 2008

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Political Trust: the Chinese Case.

Steinhardt, H. C. (Speaker)

8 Jan 200812 Jan 2008

Activity: Talks and presentationsTalk or oral contributionScience to Science


Department of East Asian Studies

Spitalgasse 2
1090 Wien
Room: 2F-O1-34

T: +43-1-4277-43853

hc.steinhardt@univie.ac.at