[Commlist] New Book – Digital Nationalism and Affective Governance

Dechun Zhang is delighted to share that my book, /Digital Nationalism 
and Affective Governance: Propaganda, Public Sentiment, and Soft 
Authoritarianism in China/ (Routledge, 2026), has now been officially 
released.

The book examines how digital propaganda in China operates as a 
platform-shaped practice under soft authoritarianism. It argues that 
nationalism functions as a discursive technology that organizes meaning, 
structures visibility, and channels public affect across digital 
platforms. Rather than operating solely through top-down control, 
propaganda emerges through the dynamic co-production of state 
narratives, platform affordances, and public emotions. Governance is 
enacted not only through censorship, but also through emotional 
guidance, algorithmic visibility, participatory cues, and discursive 
standardization. At the same time, citizens are not passive recipients. 
Online publics actively use nationalist discourse to express identity, 
perform loyalty, negotiate legitimacy, reshape official narratives, and 
voice critique. The result is a fragmented yet structured form of 
digital nationalism embedded within platformized governance. The book 
contributes to ongoing debates on digital politics, affective 
governance, propaganda, online participation, platform power, and 
authoritarian communication, while also offering broader insights into 
contemporary authoritarian and semi-authoritarian regimes beyond China.

The book is available here: https://www.routledge.com/p/book/9781041308775

You can also get your copy with 20% off using the discount code: 
CISYCDNAG20.


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