commbox China

Media and Conflict in the Social Media Era in China

Shixin Ivy Zhang

Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan (2020), xiv, 160 pp.

"This book explores the media and conflict relationship in the age of social media through the lens of China. Inspired by the concepts of medialization of conflict and actor-network theory, this book centers on four main actors in wars and conflicts: social media platform, mainstream news organizati ... more

External Link (14)

Google Scholar (12)

WorldCat (13)

Media Culture in Transnational Asia: Convergences and Divergences

Hyesu Park (ed.)

New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press (2020), 241 pp.

"Media Culture in Transnational Asia: Convergences and Divergences examines contemporary media use within Asia, where over half of the world's population resides. The book addresses media use and practices by looking at the transnational exchanges of ideas, narratives, images, techniques, and values ... more

The Implications for Democracy of China’s Globalizing Media Influence

Sarah Cook

In: Freedom and the Media: A Downward Spiral

Freedom House (2019), pp. 8-15

"Chinese authorities influence news media content around the world through three primary strategies: promoting the CCP’s narratives, suppressing critical viewpoints, and managing content delivery systems. These efforts have already undercut key features of democratic governance and best practices ... more

Google Scholar (8)

WorldCat (7)

The Big Nine: How the Tech Titans and Their Thinking Machines Could Warp Humanity

Amy Webb

New York: PublicAffairs (2019), 320 pp.

"The Big Nine who will determine the future of artifical intelligence (AI) - Google, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, IBM, and Facebook in America; and Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent in China - serve masters with conflicting interests. Wall Street wants profit now without regard to consequences. The Chinese g ... more

WorldCat (12)

China and the Global Media Landscape: Remapping and Remapped

Gabriele Balbi, Fei Jiang, Giuseppe Richeri (eds.)

Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing (2019), vi, 196 pp.

"In the last decade, the Chinese media have imposed themselves in the global arena and have started to become a reference point, in business and cultural terms, for other national media systems. This book explores how the global media landscape was changed by this revolutionary trend, and why and ho ... more

Routledge Handbook of Ecocriticism and Environmental Communication

Scott Slovic, Swarnalatha Rangarajan, Vidya Sarveswaran (eds.)

London; New York: Routledge;Earthscan (2019), xxi, 412 pp.

"Ecocriticism and environmental communication studies have for many years co-existed as parallel disciplines, occasionally crossing paths but typically operating in separate academic spheres. These fields are now rapidly converging, and this handbook aims to reinforce the common concerns and methodo ... more

Computational Propaganda: Political Parties, Politicians, and Political Manipulation on Social Media

Samuel C. Woolley, Philip N. Howard (eds.)

New York: Oxford University Press (2019), vi, 263 pp.

"Computational propaganda is an emergent form of political manipulation that occurs over the Internet. The term describes the assemblage of social media platforms, autonomous agents, algorithms, and big data tasked with the manipulation of public opinion. Our research shows that this new mode of int ... more

External Link (13)

Google Scholar (9)

WorldCat (7)

Recognition and Transformation: Beyond Media Discourses on the BRICS

Tom Dwyer, Olivier Arifon

Global Media and Communication, volume 15, issue 1 (2019), pp. 27-47

"Based on literature review and interviews with journalists, we argue that the BRICS countries are constructing a collective vision, guided by logics of recognition and of transformation. The production of discourse reaches its high point during the BRICS leaders’ summits. To go beyond analysis of ... more

Google Scholar (8)

Climate and Sustainability Communication: Global Perspectives

Donnalyn Pompper (ed.)

London; New York: Routledge (2019), x, 149 pp.

"Climate and Sustainability Communication builds upon traditional approaches to understanding the role of mass media in shaping social issues by amplifying diverse perspectives of opinion leaders, as well as voices of those affected by climate and sustainability issues. From South Korea and China, t ... more

WorldCat (11)

Chinese Propaganda Seducing the World

Jeanne Boden

Brussels: PUNCT (2019), 292 pp.

"In contrast to earlier publications on Chinese propaganda and media, 'Chinese propaganda seducing the world' offers the first comprehensive analysis of propaganda from Mao to today. Here lies the book’s strength. The author, Jeanne Boden, holds a PhD in Oriental Languages and Cultures (Ghent Univ ... more

Google Scholar (12)

WorldCat (12)

Muss man wissen … über Verschwörungstheorien

iz3w, issue 371 (2019), pp. 19-39

"Verschwörungstheorien sind kein Alleinstellungsmerkmal der Rechten und des Rechtspopulismus, sie reichen bis weit in gesellschaftliche Mitte. Auch die linke Szene ist anfällig dafür. Das unreflektierte Gerede von »den Herrschenden«, »den Eliten« oder »den Großmächten« eröffnet eine Quer ... more

Google Scholar (11)

WorldCat (11)

Media in the Global Context: Applications and Interventions

Emmanuel K. Ngwainmbi (ed.)

Cham: Palgrave Macmillan (2019), xxii, 272 pp.

"This book investigates ways in which global media coverage of conflicts affects the worldviews of the social and cultural values of nationals from the war regions. It identifies the cultural patterns in remote communities that have been 'diluted' by IT and the extent to which the changes impacted t ... more

Google Scholar (9)

WorldCat (9)

The Great Firewall of China: How to Build and Control an Alternative Version of the Internet

James Griffiths

London: Zed Books (2019), xiii, 385 pp.

Google Scholar (11)

WorldCat (11)

Wir Herrenmenschen. Unser rassistisches Erbe: Eine Reise in die deutsche Kolonialgeschichte

Bartholomäus Grill

Bonn: Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung (bpb), Sonderausg. (2019), 299 pp.

"Auch wenn die deutsche Kolonialgeschichte mittlerweile öffentliche Aufmerksamkeit erfährt, wird die Herrschaft, die Deutschland in seinen "Schutzgebieten" in Afrika, China und der Südsee ausübte, oft immer noch als eher harmlose historische Episode abgetan. Der langjährige Afrika-Korrespondent ... more

Digital Economies at Global Margins
Top Insights

Mark Graham (ed.)

Cambridge, Mass.; London; Ottawa: MIT Press;International Development Research Centre (IDRC) (2019), x, 378 pp.

Security First, Technology Second: Putin Tightens his Grip on Russia's Internet, with China's Help

Andrej A. Soldatov

Berlin: Deutsche Gesellschaft für auswärtige Politik (DGAP) (2019), 5 pp.

"Over the past seven years, the Russian government has employed various methods from censorship and surveillance to the intimidation of internet companies to tighten its control over the internet. The Kremlin undoubtedly considers the costs of control insignificant compared to the costs of political ... more

Download (2)

Charitable Crowdfunding in China: An Emergent Channel for Setting Policy Agendas?

Kellee S. Tsai, Qingyan Wang

China Quarterly, issue 240 (2019), pp. 936-966

"Social media in China has not only become a popular means of communication, but also expanded the interaction between the government and online citizens. Why have some charitable crowdfunding campaigns had agenda-setting influence on public policy, while others have had limited or no impact? Based ... more

China’s Digital Silk Road: Strategic Technological Competition and Exporting Political Illiberalism

Clayton Cheney

Pacific Forum (2019), iv, 23 pp.

"The Digital Silk Road is the component of China’s Belt and Road Initiative that aims to establish China as the global technological superpower. While the Belt and Road Initiative is generally understood to be a foreign policy initiative, it is important to view the Digital Silk Road as both a for ... eign and domestically focused aspect of the initiative. The first step to analyzing this component of the Belt and Road Initiative is to create a conceptual roadmap to understand the components of the Digital Silk Road. This paper argues that it comprises four interrelated, technologically focused initiatives. First, China is investing abroad in digital infrastructure, including next generation cellular networks, fiberoptic cables and data centers. Second, it contains a domestic focus on developing advanced technologies that will be essential to global economic and military power. These advanced technologies include satellite navigation systems, artificial intelligence and quantum computing. Third, because China recognizes the importance of economic interdependence to international influence, the Digital Silk Road promotes e-commerce through digital free trade zones. Last, digital diplomacy and governance, including through multilateral institutions, are key to China creating its ideal international digital environment. After outlining a broad conceptual map of the Digital Silk Road, this paper focuses on how China’s investment in digital infrastructure and the strategic technological competition between China and the United States will shape the international orders in the Asia-Pacific region and globally. It argues that China perceives technological advancement as the sphere in which it can most adequately challenge the United States’ global power without creating direct confrontation, including possible military confrontation. Second, the United States seeks to constrain the Digital Silk Road and China’s technological ascendancy by presenting Chinese technology corporations as posing an unacceptable risk to international security. Third, China does not want to replace the current international order that has persisted since the end of the Second World War. Rather, it would like to maintain the liberal economic order that has permitted its economic rise and export its form of digital authoritarianism to create an illiberal political international order. Finally, through investing in data centers and pursuing data localization policies, China aims to achieve strategic geopolitical objectives by projecting sharp power abroad, which will be facilitated by big data." (Executive Summary) more

From Western TV Sets to Chinese Online Streaming Services: English Language TV Series in Mainland China

Xiaoran Zhang

Participations: Journal of Audience & Reception Studies, volume 16, issue 2 (2019), pp. 220-242

"In the age of multiple screens, online streaming has in the 2010s become the most significant way of consuming overseas television programs in Mainland China. Due to rather strict government policy and censorship, foreign television series are presently only legally distributed and circulated on li ... more