Digital technologies—from big data, AI, and algorithmic governance to cloud computing and data infrastructures—are transforming how states drive development, govern society, exercise authority, and compete globally. This conference brings together fourteen in-depth qualitative studies that examine how state actors deploy digital tools in practice, and how political institutions shape technological development.

Focusing on China as a strategically significant and theoretically generative case, the conference opens the “black box” of digital governance beyond dominant computational approaches and macro-level analyses. The papers foreground core political science concerns, including state capacity, bureaucratic behavior, regulatory governance, and state–business relations. Moving beyond conventional “digital authoritarianism” frameworks, the conference highlights on-the-ground politics, institutional constraints, and the organizational dynamics that mediate how digital power is exercised.

The papers engage broader debates on the transformation of the state under digitalization, the political economy of data, platforms, digital industries, and the shifting terrain of geopolitical competition.

Interdisciplinary and international in scope, the conference features scholars from four continents. It will be held at UC Berkeley and is open to the public, with both onsite and online participation. Breakfast and lunch will be provided for onsite attendees. Registration is required; online access details will be shared upon registration.

Register here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdqfT0H_0j6GL2RT50n_AQgHMcU37MKBoHqxDcDI0hv0knFpQ/viewform

Organizers:
Yan Long, UC Berkeley, Department of Sociology
Le Lin, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Department of Sociology
Zhifan Luo, McMaster University, Department of Sociology

Sponsors:
UC Berkeley Sociology Department, Berkeley Economy and Society Initiative, Fudan-UC Center

Contact
For questions regarding the conference, registration, or attendance, please contact the coordinator, Zhehang Zhang (UC Berkeley, Department of Sociology) at zhehang@berkeley.edu