Balancing openness and security in scientific data governance: Institutional logics in China and the United States

Balancing openness and security in scientific data governance: Institutional logics in China and the United States | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Balancing openness and security in scientific data governance: Institutional logics in China and the United States Ling Chen, Lianjian Deng This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7209554/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 11 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This article examines how China and the United States address the openness–security tension in scientific data governance, a central issue in contemporary digital governance. Drawing on a qualitative content analysis of 36 national-level policy documents (18 China; 18 United States), we develop a comparative framework spanning four analytical dimensions: coordination objectives, institutional actors, governance mechanisms, and stakeholder legitimacy. China tends to adopt a centralized, developmentalist approach grounded in techno-sovereignty, whereas the United States more often relies on decentralized, rights-based coordination shaped by procedural transparency and public accountability. Theoretically, the study elaborates modular coordination theory by conceptualizing openness–security trade-offs as layered, adaptive institutional processes embedded in political regimes and legitimacy economies. We suggest that openness and security are co-evolving rather than binary opposites. The analysis focuses on national-level formal policy texts and does not directly observe enforcement or public responses. Our findings contribute to debates on digital sovereignty, public value, and legitimacy-sensitive policy design across national and transnational contexts. Social science/Development studies Social science/Politics and international relations Social science/Social policy scientific data governance openness-security dilemma digital sovereignty institutional logics policy coordination legitimacy Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files SupplementaryFileS1.xlsx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviews received at journal 16 May, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 26 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 23 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 21 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 17 Mar, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 16 Mar, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 03 Mar, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 26 Sep, 2025 Editor invited by journal 19 Sep, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 24 Aug, 2025 First submitted to journal 24 Aug, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7209554","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":600568599,"identity":"25089dda-10e0-4785-9852-f5c456066425","order_by":0,"name":"Ling Chen","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Nanning Normal University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ling","middleName":"","lastName":"Chen","suffix":""},{"id":600568601,"identity":"a1ac323b-1fbe-479f-8d76-6a42b4cfa077","order_by":1,"name":"Lianjian Deng","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA70lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACfmbGxgcJBjZy/BA+M2Etku3NzQYfKtKMJRuI1WJw5nib5IwzhxM3HCBWC8ONxDZp3jZmY+Pza8wkGCqsExvYzx7Aq4NxRmKzNW8bm5zZjWdpEgxn0hMbePIS8GphlkhsvM3bxmNsduPwMQnGtsOJDRI8Bni1sEkkNgAdJpG4ecbBNgnGf0Ro4eE52AT0vkHiBv5moC0NRGiRYG8EBXKCscQNtmSLhGPpxm08Ofi12B9mfwiMyv9y/P1nDG98qLGW7Wc/g18Lkn0JDAwJIN8RqR4I+A8Qr3YUjIJRMApGFgAAHZpIMkKCjd8AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"Guangxi University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Lianjian","middleName":"","lastName":"Deng","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-07-25 02:23:22","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7209554/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7209554/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":104043754,"identity":"7466b1f2-bd7c-4636-bb6e-1f05cc18a934","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-06 05:41:12","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1024422,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7209554/v1_covered_ffb2b86d-0f67-43fd-a66e-7f2c7427b95a.pdf"},{"id":104043591,"identity":"4efd70b4-1833-4979-86d6-5e10493c3cf7","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-06 05:40:43","extension":"xlsx","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":18195,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"SupplementaryFileS1.xlsx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7209554/v1/52d6ff529eaf444fd436db9c.xlsx"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Balancing openness and security in scientific data governance: Institutional logics in China and the United States","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"humanities-and-social-sciences-communications","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"palcomms","sideBox":"Learn more about [Humanities \u0026 Social Sciences Communications](http://www.nature.com/palcomms/)","snPcode":"41599","submissionUrl":"https://submission.springernature.com/new-submission/41599/3","title":"Humanities and Social Sciences Communications","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Nature AJ","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"scientific data governance, openness-security dilemma, digital sovereignty, institutional logics, policy coordination, legitimacy","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7209554/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7209554/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"This article examines how China and the United States address the openness–security tension in scientific data governance, a central issue in contemporary digital governance. 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