The renowned peer-reviewed academic journal Asiascape: Digital Asia (DIAS) is now inviting paper submissions for its 2026 themed issue titled “Networked Agitprop in Asia.” This special issue is being edited by Milan Ismangil and Florian Schneider, and aims to critically explore how agitprop—a historically loaded term for agitative propaganda—is evolving in the digital age across Asia.
🔍 Understanding Agitprop in the Digital Age
Agitative propaganda, or agitprop, once associated primarily with revolutionary communication from the Soviet Union, has been revitalized and redefined by digital technologies and activist movements. No longer confined to traditional channels, modern agitprop thrives within online networks, social media, and AI-powered platforms, allowing even anonymous individuals to contribute to powerful visual and ideological movements.
Movements like Taiwan’s Sunflower Protest (2015), China’s White Paper Protests (2020), and Korea’s anti-martial law protests (2025) exemplify how digitally networked activism can redefine public discourse. Even cultural expressions—like Japanese agitprop poetry communities—are part of this transformation.
📱 Digital Activism and AI: A New Frontier
From online visual commons shared in real-world protests (Hong Kong, 2019) to protest-specific mobile apps that integrate activism into daily consumer choices, agitprop today is seamlessly blending online and offline spheres. The role of generative AI has lowered the barrier for creative participation, enabling broader and more dynamic expressions of protest.
📚 Topics of Interest for Submission
This call for papers encourages interdisciplinary approaches and welcomes both top-down and bottom-up studies of agitprop in Asia. Topics may include:
- 🎨 Visual and textual propaganda in grassroots movements
- 🌐 Influence of digital networks on ideology formation
- 🔁 Comparative analysis of internet-based agitprop techniques
- 🏛️ State-sponsored agitprop and nationalism in countries like India and China
- 📢 New agitprop actors: influencers, streamers, and AI tools
🎯 Objective of the Special Issue
The editors aim to position “agitprop” as a lens to understand strategic communication in the 21st century. By tracing its use from traditional state propaganda to influencer-driven content and AI-generated visuals, this issue hopes to map out the future of political communication in Asia’s digital societies.
✍️ Submission Guidelines
Interested scholars should send:
- Paper Title
- Abstract (150 words)
- Short Biography
to Milan Ismangil at milanismangil@proton.me by 15 July 2025.
Following editorial review in August 2025, selected contributors will be asked to submit full papers of 8,000 words (including references and notes) by 1 October 2025. The peer review process will be completed by December 2025, and the special issue is scheduled for publication in early summer 2026.
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