Welcome to My Academic Profile!

I am an Associate Professor at the Communication University of China and Executive Director of the Institute of International Studies.

My scholarship explores the dynamic interplay between communication systems and global power structures, with particular attention to international political communication, media and global governance, norm contestation, and the diplomatic strategies of China and Russia.

Three central inquiries guide my current work: First, I examine how sovereign states and international organizations strategically employ communication tools—from public diplomacy to disinformation campaigns—to shape political narratives and influence public opinion. Second, I investigate how states mobilize discursive and institutional resources to redefine international norms and reconstruct behavioral expectations in our rapidly evolving multipolar world. Third, I analyze how visual representations not merely reflect but actively construct meaning in international politics, thereby shaping the very architecture of global relations.

I particularly welcome engagement with graduate students seeking supervision and fellow scholars pursuing projects at the nexus of political communication and international studies. My research appears in leading journals including Chinese Journal of International Politics, Europe-Asia Studies, and Discourse & Communication, and I contribute editorial expertise to Politics and Governance as a special issue editor.

My current portfolio includes directing multiple funded research initiatives while teaching core courses in International Politics and Diplomatic Studies. This work builds on my academic training: a Ph.D. from the University of Warwick, a Franco-Chinese dual master’s degree from Sciences Po Paris and Fudan University, and an undergraduate education in International Relations at Fudan.

Academic Appointments

Communication University of China, School of Government and Public Affairs, Beijing, China

• Associate Professor, 2024-present
• Assistant Professor, 2023-2024
• Postdoctoral Faculty Fellow, 2021-2023

Education

University of Warwick

• PhD, Politics and International Studies, 2016-2021

Sciences Po Paris & Fudan University Dual Degree Program

• MA, École de Communication & Media and Communication, 2014-2016

Fudan University

• BA, International Relations, 2010-2014

Editorial&Peer Review

Guest Editor: Politics and Governance (Special Issue: Technology and Governance in the Age of Web 3.0)

• This thematic issue examines how artificial intelligence, metaverse imaginaries, and decentralized Web3 systems have become arenas for states to build infrastructures, set technical standards, and project geopolitical power.
• It reconceptualizes technology not merely as an object of regulation but as a medium of statecraft through which sovereignty, security, and leadership are contested and remade in a multipolar digital order.
• Direct Access to Special Issue

Peer Review: International Journal of Communication; Humanities and Social Sciences Communications; China perspectives; Journalism Practice.

Latest Publications

• Zhang, C., & Wang, L. (2025). Virtual worlds, real politics: A cross‐national comparative study of metaverse policy approaches. Politics and Governance, 13 , Article 10239. (DOI)
• Hu, Z., Zhang, C., & Galligan, D. (2025). Technology as Statecraft: Remaking Sovereignty, Security, and Leadership in a Multipolar Age. Politics and Governance, 13, Article 11743. (DOI)
• Zhang, C., Jin, Y., & Si, R. (2025). Propaganda à la Russe: Historical Continuance and Modern Adaptation. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 1-6. (DOI)
• Zhang, C. (2023). Authoritarian Norm Contestation and International Broadcasting: RT’s Norm Contestation Strategy During the Ukraine Crisis. International Politics, online. (DOI)
• Zhang, C., Blanchard, P., & Zhang, D. (2022). International Broadcasting in the Time of Geopolitical Crises: Comparing Communication Strategies of CGTN and RT. Journalism Practice, 18(8), 1977-2004. (DOI)