Depicting digital authoritarianism in China and Vietnam: a mixed-method analysis of convergent and divergent patterns in cybersecurity narratives

Since 2017, China and Vietnam have intensified cybersecurity regulation, raising concerns about state surveillance and restrictions on online expression. While both governments justify these measures through narratives of national security and cyber sovereignty, their communication strategies differ significantly. This study compares how cybersecurity is articulated and legitimized in Chinese and Vietnamese state media, focusing on the communicative construction of digital authoritarianism. Using a mixed-methods approach combining Discourse Network Analysis, topic modeling, and corpus-based Critical Discourse Analysis, the study examines actor coalitions, dominant themes, and framing strategies in official media discourse. The findings reveal distinct models of digital governance. China's discourse emphasizes data security, digital economic development, and technological leadership, framing cybersecurity as part of national modernization and global influence. In contrast, Vietnam's discourse portrays cyberspace primarily as a threat to political stability and social order, prioritizing domestic control and regime security. These differences reflect two communicative logics of digital authoritarianism: one oriented toward global competitiveness and economic legitimacy, and the other toward internal securitization and political survival. The study contributes to scholarship on authoritarian resilience and demonstrates how state media narratives legitimize divergent models of internet governance in contemporary authoritarian contexts.