[Air-L] (Call for papers) Internet, Policy and Politics 2018: Long Live Democracy?

[Victoria Nash]

Internet, Policy and Politics 2018: Long Live Democracy?
20 - 21 September 2018, University of Oxford.
This conference is convened by the Oxford Internet Institute for the OII-edited academic journal Policy and Internet, in collaboration with the European Consortium of Political Research (ECPR) standing group on Internet and Politics. http://ipp.oii.ox.ac.uk/2018/call-for-papers

This conference will question the theses of democratic renewal - and democratic decay - in a digital world. We are looking for rigorous research that helps us understand the role of digital platforms in democratic processes and in the development of new institutional arrangements that ensure democratic systems remain free, fair and open. Current democratic and government structures are in urgent need of institutional renewal if they are to survive in the 21st century but we remain optimistic that harnessing the potential of internet-mediated technologies might support the reinvigoration of democracy. In this conference we thus seek to place critical attention on the potential role of internet mediated activity in undermining core aspects of democracy whilst also calling for positive, optimistic contributions which highlight the many ways in which the internet has allowed existing democracies to grow and change.

We welcome theoretical, empirical, qualitative and quantitative studies, from all disciplines. Submissions are invited to tackle one of the following themes (though other submissions are also welcome):
*         The role of social media in political campaigns
*         Governance and politics of platforms such as Uber, oDesk, AirBnB, Facebook or Twitter
*         Accountability and rights of redress in the platform society
*         Innovations in civic participation and engagement
*         Digital political advertising and voter targeting
*         Online social movements
*         Echo chambers and online political fragmentation
*         "Fake news" and electronic propaganda
*         Astroturfing and automatic manipulation of social media
*         The character and tone of online political speech and debate
*         Instability and volatility in political life
*         Changing party systems
*         The rise of extremism and polarization
*         Models of democracy for the digital age
Accepted papers will be organized into thematically and methodologically relevant sessions and parallel streams.

Proposal submission
Paper proposals should consist of a title and a 1,000-word extended abstract that specifies and motivates the research question, describes the methods and data used, and gives an indication of the findings. Abstracts will be reviewed, and the authors of accepted proposals are expected to submit full papers prior to the conference. After the conference, participants will be invited to submit their paper for consideration as part of a special issue of the journal Policy and Internet. More information on how to submit is available at: http://ipp.oii.ox.ac.uk/2018/call-for-papers


Dr Victoria Nash
Deputy Director
Policy & Research Fellow
Oxford Internet Institute
University of Oxford
http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/

Tel: 01865 287231
Tw: VickiNashOII