This dissertation investigates the dynamics and consequences of emerging digital authoritarianism by examining state–society relations from the understudied perspective of emotion. Theoretically, it bridges conventional research on authoritarian politics with the political psychology of emotion and proposes an emotion-centered approach to studying state–society interactions shaped by digital control. Using China as a key empirical case and employing a mixed-methods research design, it explores the multifaceted role of emotion in the everyday operation of digital authoritarianism. The thesis aims to enrich current understandings of the noninstitutional and nonmaterial dimensions of contemporary authoritarian rule.