Abstract
Guest Editors: Pon Souvannaseng & Nicholas Jepson
As China has become an increasingly important investor, financier and trading partner around the world, in what ways do these interactions differentially constrain, enable- and perhaps revive-developmental possibilities in other communist and post-socialist states? Is Chinese support propping up the world’s remaining command economies, or producing new and evolving forms of (state) capitalism? Can particular patterns be detected in Chinese involvement and its effects- for example, between autarkic and liberalized states, across world regions, or between authoritarian and democratic cases?
The International Journal of Comparative Sociology invites contributions to a special issue that analyzes interactions between China and other communist and post-socialist states globally. We invite contributions that explore the implications of Chinese engagement for (post-) socialist and communist states from across Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe, as they seek to navigate the 21st century international political economy.
We invite a broad range of approaches including theory-driven, historical, and comparative studies. Suggested topics include:
- Empirical studies that map the political-economic dynamics (both domestic and international) involved in relationships between (post-) socialist countries and an array of Chinese actors (including the central party-state, provincial governments, SOEs, private capital and individual migrants)
- Historical and/or theory-driven papers which develop or contribute to delineation and typologies of communist and post-communist/socialist trajectories towards Sino-engagement
- Investigations of potential linkages and dynamics between Sino-engagement and host country political trends
- Studies which elucidate how host country institutions such as parastatals and state enterprises have facilitated Sino-investments and/or examine the implications of Chinese projects for host country labor rights
- Papers focusing on regions and countries with socialist and communist legacies that have been understudied and overlooked in the ‘transition’ literature, particularly from Africa, Latin America, the Middle East and Asia.
The deadline for submission of full papers is 1 October 2021. To submit your paper, please:
The deadline for submission of abstracts and proposals is 28 February 2021. To submit your paper, please:
(1) Upload your manuscript to: https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/cos
(2) Send an email including a manuscript title; names & affiliations of all authors, and an abstract to Pon Souvannaseng (
All contributions will be subject to the usual peer review procedure of the International Journal of Comparative Sociology involving the IJCS Editor, themed issue guest editors, and at least three reviewers.