Global Media and China
Deadline: May 20, 2026
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 specific national or regional contexts, 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@hum.ku.dk)
- Weiai Xu, University of Massachusetts Amherst (weiaixu@umass.edu)
- Han Lin, Soochow University (linhan741@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
