Dechun Zhang

Dechun Zhang is a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Communication, Faculty of Humanities, University of Copenhagen, working on the ERC-funded GREENWATCH project analyzing IoT ethics. He is also an Affiliated Researcher at Leiden Asia Centre, with editorial roles at Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia (Managing Editor), Asia Pacific Viewpoint (Editor), and Journal of Visual Political Communication (Social Media Editor).

• Education:
  • PhD in Chinese Politics (Leiden University, 2020-2025)
  • MA in Journalism, Media, and Globalization (Aarhus/Amsterdam)
  • BA (Hons) in International Journalism (Hong Kong Baptist)

Research Interests: Zhang specializes in political communication and digital politics, with a focus on digital nationalism, online participation, and media-government dynamics in China. His work combines qualitative, quantitative, and computational methods, including LDA, sentiment analysis, and visual content coding. Recent projects analyze IoT surveillance ethics, pandemic propaganda, and state-sponsored narratives on social media.

Publications: His research appears in Politics and Governance (2025), Frontiers in Psychology (2023), and Humanities and Social Sciences Communications (2024). He has book chapters on Russo-Ukrainian War discourses (2024) and digital nationalism (2020), with a forthcoming monograph Echoes of Nationalism (Routledge, 2025).

Grants & Projects: Key roles in the ERC Advanced Grant GREENWATCH (€2.5M) and China Knowledge Network grants. His work on digital propaganda and transnational data governance has been published in International Journal of Communication and Journal of Current Chinese Affairs (under revision).