Postdoc at the Department of Communication, University of Copenhagen. Managing Editor @jceajournal.bsky.social, Editor of Asia Pacific Viewpoint, @gpccomm.bsky.social, Sage Open & Social Media Editor @jvpcjournal.bsky.social. Web: http://dechunzhang.comhttps://bsky.app/profile/dechunzhang.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/dechunzhang.bsky.social/post/3ml3xpoziak2vMy contribution to the EUI volume Open for Debate. I introduce “negotiated openness” to rethink how digital participation is structured—pointing to the rise of “soft digital authoritarianism.” Link: https://cadmus.eui.eu/entities/publication/a8189891-83f0-43d3-812e-37340cc063a505 May 2026 10:22 +0000at://did:plc:nicqpuz2davuydqsaz4n3wwi/app.bsky.feed.post/3ml3xpoziak2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/dechunzhang.bsky.social/post/3ml3kw5khbc2hExcited to announce my book Digital Nationalism and Affective Governance (Routledge) is available for pre-order TODAY. Digital propaganda in China operates under soft authoritarianism, with nationalism co-produced by state, platforms, and citizens. Pre-order: https://www.routledge.com/p/book/978104130877505 May 2026 06:33 +0000at://did:plc:nicqpuz2davuydqsaz4n3wwi/app.bsky.feed.post/3ml3kw5khbc2hhttps://bsky.app/profile/dechunzhang.bsky.social/post/3mjiezlwxys2dI’m pleased to share that, following my first monograph, my second book (co-authored) is now under contract with Bloomsbury: International Opinion Power in the U.S.–China Trade War, examining how global public opinion is constructed and contested across seven countries.14 Apr 2026 22:01 +0000at://did:plc:nicqpuz2davuydqsaz4n3wwi/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjiezlwxys2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/dechunzhang.bsky.social/post/3mj2peunr2k2qExcited to have contributed to the China Knowledge Network (@c-k-n.bsky.social) report: Understanding China’s Export Controls. I co-authored Chapter 2: Legal & Regulatory Evolution with Ruoxin Su. Thanks to Guangyu Qiao-Franco & Rogier Creemers!
 📍 Join: https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/13bc09f2-2b0f-4d6b-b9ef-54d540729fe6@c032cd23-bdbe-4acb-869e-33eb6394570109 Apr 2026 11:29 +0000at://did:plc:nicqpuz2davuydqsaz4n3wwi/app.bsky.feed.post/3mj2peunr2k2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/dechunzhang.bsky.social/post/3mixlrexucc2vTwo book updates: My monograph Digital Nationalism and Affective Governance: Propaganda, Public Sentiment, and Soft Authoritarianism in China (Routledge, https://www.routledge.com/p/book/9781041308775) will be available for preorder on May 5 and will be published on May 26.08 Apr 2026 05:47 +0000at://did:plc:nicqpuz2davuydqsaz4n3wwi/app.bsky.feed.post/3mixlrexucc2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/dechunzhang.bsky.social/post/3mik5haybw22yNew CKN report on China’s export controls. Examines legal framework, institutions & policy evolution beyond rare earths and tech headlines. My contribution focuses on the legal evolution of export controls and their shift toward strategic statecraft. https://www.chinakennisnetwerk.nl/events/ckn-presentation-understanding-chinas-export-controls02 Apr 2026 21:26 +0000at://did:plc:nicqpuz2davuydqsaz4n3wwi/app.bsky.feed.post/3mik5haybw22yhttps://bsky.app/profile/dechunzhang.bsky.social/post/3mhfjmw5u4c2gCome to work with me! [contains quote post or other embedded content]19 Mar 2026 07:55 +0000at://did:plc:nicqpuz2davuydqsaz4n3wwi/app.bsky.feed.post/3mhfjmw5u4c2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/dechunzhang.bsky.social/post/3mh7j46s4ik22Call for Papers I’m pleased to guest edit a special issue on AI, Algorithmic Media, and Digital Governance in Global Media and China We invite research on AI governance, algorithmic media, and digital power. Abstract deadline: 20 May 2026 Details: https://journals.sagepub.com/pb-assets/cmscontent/GCH/Algorithmic%20Media_CFP-1773117974170.pdf16 Mar 2026 22:30 +0000at://did:plc:nicqpuz2davuydqsaz4n3wwi/app.bsky.feed.post/3mh7j46s4ik22https://bsky.app/profile/dechunzhang.bsky.social/post/3mgpp2gazss23The inaugural issue of @gpccomm.bsky.social is now online! 🎆 Edited by @bowmanspartan.bsky.social, the issue explores key global communication topics—from digital health information seeking to misinformation and TikTok’s global rise. 🔗 academic.oup.com/gpc/issue/1/1 https://academic.oup.com/gpc/issue/1/110 Mar 2026 15:34 +0000at://did:plc:nicqpuz2davuydqsaz4n3wwi/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgpp2gazss23https://bsky.app/profile/dechunzhang.bsky.social/post/3mgpopn6rbk23CFP Reminder — 1 week left! Special Issue in Communication and the Public: Co-Producing Environmental Publics: Technology, Communication, and Ecological Transformation We welcome research on digital technologies shaping environmental publics and governance. Abstracts Deadline: March 20, 2026 [contains quote post or other embedded content]10 Mar 2026 15:28 +0000at://did:plc:nicqpuz2davuydqsaz4n3wwi/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgpopn6rbk23https://bsky.app/profile/dechunzhang.bsky.social/post/3mg7yqi4dak2xTogether with Jun Liu, I’ve signed a contract with Edward Elgar Publishing for our edited volume Research Handbook on Communication in China. Excited to engage with scholars working on political communication, media systems, digital platforms, and China in the global communication order.04 Mar 2026 09:45 +0000at://did:plc:nicqpuz2davuydqsaz4n3wwi/app.bsky.feed.post/3mg7yqi4dak2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/dechunzhang.bsky.social/post/3me2psewmck23📢 Call for Papers | Communication and the Public Special Issue: Co-Producing Environmental Publics: Technology, Communication & Ecological Transformation 🗓️ Abstract deadline: 20 March 2026 Please RT & share with interested colleagues 🌍📣 [contains quote post or other embedded content]04 Feb 2026 20:31 +0000at://did:plc:nicqpuz2davuydqsaz4n3wwi/app.bsky.feed.post/3me2psewmck23https://bsky.app/profile/dechunzhang.bsky.social/post/3mcbtou57yk22Call for Papers I’m organizing, with Han Lin and Weiai (Wayne) Xu, a Special Issue titled: “Co-Producing Environmental Publics: Technology, Communication & Ecological Transformation” for Communication and the Public Abstract deadline: 20 March 2026 CFP: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zAr6qNL5YtkC9YKQtj9VexGcPmZxelaq/view?usp=sharing13 Jan 2026 05:39 +0000at://did:plc:nicqpuz2davuydqsaz4n3wwi/app.bsky.feed.post/3mcbtou57yk22https://bsky.app/profile/dechunzhang.bsky.social/post/3mbmpdpcbrc2wMy forthcoming book, Digital Nationalism and Affective Governance: Propaganda, Public Sentiment, and Soft Authoritarianism in China (Routledge), now has an official cover and is listed on the publisher’s website. It is expected to be published in 2026. 🔗 www.routledge.com/9781041308775 https://www.routledge.com/978104130877504 Jan 2026 19:55 +0000at://did:plc:nicqpuz2davuydqsaz4n3wwi/app.bsky.feed.post/3mbmpdpcbrc2whttps://bsky.app/profile/dechunzhang.bsky.social/post/3m7zybdp3322tMy new coauthored paper, with Zesheng Yang & Ava Xingmeng Huang, “Negotiating sporting identity in divided discursive spaces: nationalism and localism in the Guangdong–Hong Kong Cup,” is now published in Sport in Society. Full paper: https://doi.org/10.1080/17430437.2025.255296715 Dec 2025 15:49 +0000at://did:plc:nicqpuz2davuydqsaz4n3wwi/app.bsky.feed.post/3m7zybdp3322thttps://bsky.app/profile/dechunzhang.bsky.social/post/3m75vrgmdcs2lOur editorial with Justin Chun-ting Ho, “Entangled Futures — Governance, Resistance, and Publics in Digital Transformations,” for the special issue Digital Transformations in Asian Politics at @jceajournal.bsky.social is out now. East Asia reshapes digital governance debates. https://doi.org/10.17477/jcea.2025.24.2.09404 Dec 2025 11:50 +0000at://did:plc:nicqpuz2davuydqsaz4n3wwi/app.bsky.feed.post/3m75vrgmdcs2lhttps://bsky.app/profile/dechunzhang.bsky.social/post/3m6r4wparu226Our paper with @xueyancao.bsky.social, "Creative Digital Resistance on China’s Virtual Wailing Wall," now in China Information! We explore how the platform evolved from pandemic critique to personal narratives that challenge dominant political narratives. Detail: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0920203X25139468529 Nov 2025 09:53 +0000at://did:plc:nicqpuz2davuydqsaz4n3wwi/app.bsky.feed.post/3m6r4wparu226https://bsky.app/profile/dechunzhang.bsky.social/post/3m6pdqbozk22bMy coauthored paper, "Creative Digital Resistance on China’s Virtual Wailing Wall," is published in China Information! We explore how the platform evolved from pandemic critique to personal narratives that challenge dominant political narratives. Detail: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0920203X25139468528 Nov 2025 16:50 +0000at://did:plc:nicqpuz2davuydqsaz4n3wwi/app.bsky.feed.post/3m6pdqbozk22bhttps://bsky.app/profile/dechunzhang.bsky.social/post/3m42b5fikds2zHonored to be elected as the Student & Early Career Representative for @icahdq.bsky.social Mass Communication Division! 🎉 Looking forward to supporting initiatives, fostering collaboration, and contributing to our community’s continued growth and success! [contains quote post or other embedded content]25 Oct 2025 20:47 +0000at://did:plc:nicqpuz2davuydqsaz4n3wwi/app.bsky.feed.post/3m42b5fikds2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/dechunzhang.bsky.social/post/3lz7kc4jjos2cMy new paper, Digital Mourning and Civic Engagement: Emotional Dynamics on China’s Virtual Wailing Wall shows Dr. Li Wenliang’s Weibo wall shifted from talk to grief & remembrance under censorship, regions & diaspora, in Journal of Current Chinese Affairs. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1868102625137949219 Sep 2025 18:59 +0000at://did:plc:nicqpuz2davuydqsaz4n3wwi/app.bsky.feed.post/3lz7kc4jjos2chttps://bsky.app/profile/dechunzhang.bsky.social/post/3lyfy6lv3wc2wI’m excited to share that I am running for election as the Student and Early Career Representative of the Mass Communication Division of ICA. If you are a member of the Mass Communication Division, I would be grateful for your support. Please consider voting for me: https://www.icahdq.org/page/Election202509 Sep 2025 14:58 +0000at://did:plc:nicqpuz2davuydqsaz4n3wwi/app.bsky.feed.post/3lyfy6lv3wc2whttps://bsky.app/profile/dechunzhang.bsky.social/post/3lxcvedivns2jNew piece in @dialoguesdigsoc.bsky.social: “Digital Nationalism in China: Expression, Propaganda, and Soft Authoritarianism”. It shows how digital nationalism in China works as soft authoritarianism, blending control with participatory propaganda. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2976864025137178026 Aug 2025 16:04 +0000at://did:plc:nicqpuz2davuydqsaz4n3wwi/app.bsky.feed.post/3lxcvedivns2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/dechunzhang.bsky.social/post/3lw24xjlchs2lProbably a small thing to many, but I just noticed I’ve reached a small milestone — 200 citations on Google Scholar.10 Aug 2025 11:01 +0000at://did:plc:nicqpuz2davuydqsaz4n3wwi/app.bsky.feed.post/3lw24xjlchs2l