Legitimacy justifies the acts and authority of social
groups and organisations and makes them acceptable to other social members. As
a global health crisis that sweeps the world, the Covid-19 pandemic has
provoked a crisis of legitimacy that social actors and institutions face over
their responses to or roles in the pandemic. Meanwhile, however, the pandemic
may also open up opportunities for them to gain legitimacy. Naturally, social
actors and institutions would endeavour to retain or gain legitimacy through
many means, of which the media – including the news media and the Internet – is
one of the most important instruments. This unprecedented scenario caused by
the Covid-19 crisis thus raises many new (and old) questions for media and
communication studies to address.
These questions concern, inter alia, the measures
taken and the use of the media by governments, states, international
organisations, science, and journalists to address the impact of the pandemic
on their legitimacy; the changes of legitimacy-related social norms in the
media, media discourses, and public perceptions and trust; and whether and to
what extent the Covid-19 crisis enhances or endangers the legitimacy of
presence and actions of diasporas in host countries and how these groups use
the media to respond to this situation.
Given China’s role in this pandemic,
evidence from Chinese contexts – including Chinese societies and Chinese
overseas communities - can provide valuable answers to these questions and a
profound insight into the role of media and communication in constructing and
contesting legitimacy in crisis situations, of which the Covid-19 pandemic is
the latest example.
China is embroiled in disputes with other countries,
in particular, the United States (USA) and Australia, over the virus origin and
handling. The legitimacy of the World Health Organisation (WHO), which is
accused of defending China, is at risk. China’s success and the struggles of
the West, in particular, the US, the UK and Europe, in containing the virus
seem to suggest the supremacy of Socialism with Chinese characteristics over
Western Capitalism. The suspicion of the role of Chinese scientists in the
pandemic origin potentially triggers the public’s fear of Dr. Frankenstein,
casting doubts over the legitimacy of science. The plague of “fake news”, along
with China’s propaganda framework, hits a blow to the legitimacy of the news media
in China. The pandemic has also (re)raised long-lasting political issues
surrounding Taiwan and Hong Kong. In the context of coronavirus, an increase in
racial and ethnic tensions in countries like the US and the growing tensions
between China and the West influence the legitimacy of presence and actions of
Chinese overseas communities and their capacity to engage with local people in
host countries where they settle. In the face of these challenges, how would
related social actors and institutions use the media to gain or defend their
legitimacy?
In light of the above, the Special Issue of the Chinese Journal of Communication is inviting the submission of papers.
Possible areas of interest include, but are not limited to:
- How do social actors and institutions, such as governments, states, science, and journalists in Chinese societies like mainland China, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan, and international organisations like the WHO, use the media to handle the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on their legitimacy?
- Are there any changes in social norms in the media, media discourses, and public perceptions about the legitimacy of Chinese social actors and institution, such as the state, the news media and science, since the Covid-19 crisis? If so, how and to what extent?
- Is the legitimacy of social systems, such as Capitalism and Socialism with Chinese characteristics, constructed and contested through the media in the Covid-19 crisis? If so, how and to what extent?
- What relationship is there between states and science? Do states in Chinese societies engage in a contest with science for legitimacy in the Covid-19 crisis? Or do states and science collaborate to boost each other’s legitimacy? In either case, how and to what extent, and what role does the media play in the process?
- How do Chinese overseas communities use the media to defend their legitimacy of presence – for example, as national groups, individual residents, political actors, professionals - and actions in host countries in the Covid-19 crisis?
The submission can also be transnational, comparative
studies with part of the focus on Chinese contexts.
The submission deadline for all manuscripts is 31
January 2021. All submitted manuscripts are subject to a rigorous, blind
peer-review process. All accepted manuscripts will be published online first.
The planned printed publication date is an issue of CJC in 2022. No payment is
required for submission to or publication at the journal.
Submissions should conform to the editorial guidelines
of the Chinese Journal of Communication found at the website under “Instructions for Authors.” Papers for
consideration in this special issue should be submitted online and should indicate they are intended for
inclusion in the special issue. For inquires, contact Dr. Jingrong Tong at
j.tong@sheffield.ac.uk or Prof. Francis Lee at francis_lee@cuhk.edu.hk.
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