Non-State Actors in The Platform Era: The Case of Chinese Micro-Drama Producers

Abstract

The expansion of digitalization along with the emerge of digital platform, have changed the conditions under which non-state actors can operate across borders. This study examines how non-state actors achieve transnational reach in the digital era, using Chinese micro-drama producers as a case. Chinese micro-dramas are short-form serialized video content, typically lasting one to three minutes per episode, that have achieved rapid international distribution through digital platforms since the early 2020s. Drawing on Keohane and Nye's (1972) transnational relations framework and Bjola and Kornprobst's (2023) Digital International Relations framework, this study asks: how have commercially driven, non-state actors achieved transnational reach within a short period, and what does this reveal about the role of digitalization in enabling cross-border participation? The findings show three things. First, Chinese micro-drama producers are non-state commercial actors, privately owned, commercially funded, profit-motivated, and operating independently of China's official cultural diplomacy strategy. Second, these actors achieved substantial transnational reach across multiple global regions, with leading platforms accumulating tens of millions of monthly active users and generating revenue that surpassed China's domestic box office for the first time. Third, digital platforms enable this reach by reducing three types of barriers that previously limited cross-border operations: distribution barriers, discovery barriers, and monetization barriers. The study contributes to transnational relations studies by demonstrating that digitalization has expanded the range of actors capable of achieving transnational reach beyond what earlier theory anticipated, enabling commercial entities to operate across borders without state backing or large corporate infrastructure.