[Air-L] CfP // CJoC special issue Special Issue on 'Decentralised Technologies and Global Chinese Communities'

[Tom McDonald]

CALL FOR PAPERS
Chinese Journal of Communication
Special Issue on "Decentralised Technologies and Global Chinese Communities"

View Call for Papers online:
https://think.taylorandfrancis.com/special_issues/decentralised-technologies-and-global-chinese-communities/


SPECIAL ISSUE EDITOR(S)

Tom McDonald, Department of Sociology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
mcdonald at hku.hk

Haiqing Yu, School of Media & Communication & ADM+S Centre, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia
haiqing.yu at rmit.edu.au

Jiaxi Hou, School of Media & Communication & ADM+S Centre, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia
houjiaxi725 at gmail.com


DECENTRALISED TECHNOLOGIES AND GLOBAL CHINESE COMMUNITIES

Decentralised technologies—including blockchain, distributed ledgers, and the Web3 ecosystem (such as decentralised finance [DeFi], decentralised autonomous organisations [DAOs], and cryptocurrencies)—are transforming global economic, social, cultural, and communicative structures. Promising greater autonomy, transparency, and inclusivity, these technologies challenge established institutional power structures and enable new forms of organisation, interaction, and transaction.

For global Chinese communities—comprising diasporic, transnational, and mainland Chinese populations, including those of Chinese descent who may not self-identify as “Chinese”—decentralised technologies present both profound opportunities and pressing challenges. These communities are not only active in developing, investing in, and applying these technologies, but are also reimagining their networks, identities, and cultural practices through them. In doing so, they contribute to the emergence of new and alternative ideologies for blockchain, such as community-based governance models, reconfigured kinship or clan networks, and experimentation with decentralised collective action grounded in Chinese cultural and political contexts. These ideologies may differ significantly from the libertarian or techno-utopian beliefs often foregrounded in Western blockchain discourses.

These efforts offer rich potential for invigorating scholarly inquiry beyond the dominant Western frames that have shaped most blockchain research to date. Existing research tends to focus on competing ideologies embedded in decentralised infrastructures and their capacity to spread globally due to the technologies’ “borderless” nature. This special issue calls for deeper attention to how such ideological frameworks are adapted, challenged, or reshaped in Chinese contexts—ranging from grassroots experimentation with DAO governance to state-aligned visions of “trusted” decentralisation and platform sovereignty.

Moreover, this special issue seeks to broaden the scope of inquiry to include the making of the infrastructures—technical, economic, social, and logistical—that support decentralised technologies. This includes mining operations, server farms, coding networks, and investment infrastructures, as well as the (dis)continuities with earlier decentralised movements in Chinese history, such as rural mutual aid societies or early internet forums. What historical forms of decentralisation do these technologies recall, rework, or depart from?

To address these questions, we highlight the pivotal but underexplored role that Chinese communities have played in building the infrastructure and applications of decentralised systems. From mining operations and foundational code contributions to “pop-up” cities and citizen-led DAOs, Chinese actors have significantly shaped the technical, social, and ideological contours of decentralised ecosystems. At the same time, everyday adoption—via digital currency, social tokens, decentralised apps (dApps), and cross-border transactions—continues to transform daily life and communication practices for many Chinese users, inside and outside of mainland China.

This special issue invites contributions that explore how decentralised technologies intersect with the evolving notion of global Chinese communities and transnational communication in and beyond mainland China. We especially encourage papers that draw from and contribute to media and communication research, including (but not limited to) digital platform studies, media infrastructures, the political economy of communication, cultural production, and theories of publics and counterpublics. By foregrounding communicative practices, media systems, and cultural discourses, this issue aims to connect decentralised technologies to core concerns in communication and media scholarship.


SUGGESTED TOPICS:

I. Case Studies of Chinese-led Blockchain and Web3 Projects

* Roles of Chinese diasporic entrepreneurs and developers in blockchain ecosystems.
* Blockchain and crypto adoption in Chinese communities: cultural and economic practices, digital currencies, and mobile platforms.
* Cultural preservation via decentralised media: NFTs, decentralised archives, and storytelling.
* Navigating regulatory tensions between mainland China and global crypto governance.
* Risks of decentralisation: scams, disinformation, and systemic inequality in Chinese contexts.

II. Ethnographies of Chinese Communities and Decentralised Technologies

* Blockchain-enabled connectivity for fragmented Chinese communities.
* Sociotechnical imaginaries: how different Chinese communities envision blockchain futures.
* DAOs as tools for collective organising, resource-sharing, and identity reformation.
* The cultural politics of decentralised systems within Confucian, collectivist, or hierarchical traditions.
* Frictions between decentralised experimentation and the centralising Chinese tradition.

III. Infrastructures and (Dis)Continuities

* Technical and economic infrastructures: mining, funding, logistics, and digital labour.
* Comparative studies of infrastructure-building across geographies and Chinese subgroups.
* The uneven development and accessibility of decentralised infrastructure within the Chinese-speaking world.
* Continuities and discontinuities between the past and contemporary forms of organising (because of new technologies).

IV. AI and Web3 Convergence

* Integration of Chinese-developed AI with Web3 for new socio-technical formations.
* Automated governance and machine-learning-enhanced DAOs in Chinese projects.
* Cultural production in AI/Web3 convergence: Chinese creators, platforms, and fans.
* Web3’s influence on Chinese language, identity, and traditional practices.
* Philosophical and ethical questions in Chinese-language discourses on AI and Web3.


SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

** Workshop for Papers **

Authors intending to submit a manuscript for consideration in this special issue are encouraged to take advantage of a closed-door workshop to be held at the University of Hong Kong on 28 October 2025, where they will have the opportunity to present and receive feedback on an early draft of their papers prior to submission.

Applications to participate in the workshop should be received by 14 August 2025 (https://hku.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0cxfXO7SkjYT1fU). A small number of travel grants are available. Please note that participation in the workshop does not guarantee that the paper will be included in the special issue.


** Full Manuscripts for Peer Review **

Manuscript deadline: 19 January 2026.
Submission site access via: https://think.taylorandfrancis.com/special_issues/decentralised-technologies-and-global-chinese-communities/

During the submission process, please indicate that your submission is intended for inclusion in the special issue “Decentralised Technologies and Global Chinese Communities”.
All submitted manuscripts are subject to rigorous blind peer-review process. All accepted manuscripts will be published online first. The planned printed publication date is an issue of Chinese Journal of Communication in 2027.

For inquiries, please contact: Professor Tom McDonald (mcdonald at hku.hk) or Co-Guest-Editors.

Tom McDonald
Associate Professor

Department of Sociology
The University of Hong Kong

mcdonald at hku.hk<mailto:mcdonald at hku.hk>
Tel: +852 3917 1105
http://sociology.hku.hk/mcdonald