[Air-L] Call for Papers – Special Issue on AI, Algorithmic Media, and Digital Governance (Global Media and China)

[Dechun Zhang]

Dear colleagues,
We are pleased to announce a Call for Papers for a forthcoming special issue titled “AI, Algorithmic Media, and Digital Governance: Power, Control, and Technological Transformation,” to be published in the journal Global Media and China.
The accelerating integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into digital infrastructures represents a profound transformation in contemporary media environments and governance systems. AI-driven platforms, algorithmic recommendation systems, and automated content moderation increasingly shape how information circulates, how public discourse is structured, and how political authority is exercised across different societies. These developments raise important questions about algorithmic governance, digital sovereignty, media regulation, and the broader political implications of AI-mediated communication.
This special issue seeks to advance interdisciplinary scholarship examining the evolving relationships between AI technologies, media systems, and governance practices. We welcome contributions that critically explore how algorithmic systems influence media production, platform governance, public communication, and political power across diverse institutional and geopolitical contexts.
We invite empirical, theoretical, and methodological contributions from scholars working in communication and media studies, political science, digital governance, sociology, science and technology studies, and related disciplines. Submissions may focus on China, or adopt comparative and transnational perspectives.
Possible topics include, but are not limited to:
• Algorithmic governance, digital statecraft, and political authority
• AI-driven propaganda, information manipulation, and computational misinformation
• State-led AI governance and digital surveillance regimes
• Platform politics and the political economy of algorithmic systems
• Public perceptions of AI and the politics of digital rights
• AI infrastructures, technological sovereignty, and global asymmetries in digital power
• Smart cities, Internet of Things systems, and algorithmic governance in public administration
Key dates
Abstract submission deadline: 20 May 2026
Notification of invitations for full papers: 1 June 2026
Full paper submission deadline: 30 October 2026
Please submit an abstract of up to 500 words to the guest editors with the subject line “GMAC Special Issue Submission.”
Guest Editors:
Dechun Zhang, University of Copenhagen (dezh at hum.ku.dk<mailto:dezh at hum.ku.dk>)
Weiai Xu, University of Massachusetts Amherst (weiaixu at umass.edu<mailto:weiaixu at umass.edu>)
Han Lin, Soochow University (linhan741 at gmail.com<mailto:linhan741 at gmail.com>)
Full details of the Call for Papers can be found here:
https://journals.sagepub.com/pb-assets/cmscontent/GCH/Algorithmic%20Media_CFP-1773117974170.pdf
We would greatly appreciate it if you could circulate this call among colleagues, research groups, and academic networks who may be interested.
Thank you for your attention, and we look forward to receiving your submissions.
Best regards,
Dechun
________________________________
Dechun Zhang, PhD
Postdoctoral Researcher at Department of Communication,
University of Copenhagen

Author of Digital Nationalism and Affective Governance: Propaganda, Public Sentiment, and Soft Authoritarianism in China <https://www.routledge.com/9781041308775> (Routledge, 2026)

Managing Editor of Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://jceasia.org/__;!!NVzLfOphnbDXSw!Fs30wWO53k-aRPhXk8cOoYDgoJk1m-zkmXym32bPFBjtrza2MbLscJpCwcvDfCx-NYCclfWnbx3_XlpZJN81pwYIIyfYR64$>
Editor of Asia Pacific Viewpoint<https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/14678373>, Sage Open<https://journals.sagepub.com/home/SGO> & Global Perspectives in Communication<https://academic.oup.com/gpc>
and Social Media Editor of Journal of Visual Political Communication<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.intellectbooks.com/journal-visual-political-communication__;!!NVzLfOphnbDXSw!Fs30wWO53k-aRPhXk8cOoYDgoJk1m-zkmXym32bPFBjtrza2MbLscJpCwcvDfCx-NYCclfWnbx3_XlpZJN81pwYIcMbTfOY$>

Affiliated Researcher at the Leiden Asia Centre<https://leidenasiacentre.nl/people/dechun-zhang/?portfolioCats=82%2C100%2C96%2C94%2C122%2C86>,
Leiden University

ORCID: 0000-0002-2284-2378<https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2284-2378>
Web: https://www.dechunzhang.com/<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.dechunzhang.com/__;!!NVzLfOphnbDXSw!Fs30wWO53k-aRPhXk8cOoYDgoJk1m-zkmXym32bPFBjtrza2MbLscJpCwcvDfCx-NYCclfWnbx3_XlpZJN81pwYIfAJS6TY$>


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