[Air-L] CfP Workshop about Platform Governance of the German Political Science Association

[Lena Ulbricht]

Dear colleagues,

we are happy to invite you to submit proposals to the 2022 Workshop of 
the German Political Science Association about Platform Governance in 
Duisburg-Essen! Please feel free to share this invitation: pdf enclosed, 
CfP below.

https://www.dvpw.de/gliederung/ak/digitalisierung-und-politik/aktuelles

With warm wishes,
the speakers of the DVPW Working Group Digitalization and Politics

Dr. Pascal König
Prof. Dr. Angela Oels
Dr. Julia Schwanholz
Dr. Lena Ulbricht

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Call for Papers: Platform Governance and Politics

2022 Workshop of the DVPW Working Group Digitalization and Politics

One of the most momentous changes that marks the digital transformation 
of societies is a trend towards ‘platformization’. Platformization can 
be understood as an increase of platform-shaped companies and business 
models (as in many ‘sharing economy’ business models), but also more 
generally as the advent of an organizational principle that relies upon 
user-based content, scala-bility, and modularization, among other 
aspects. The overall implications of platformization have been vividly 
discussed by scholars from different disciplines and policymakers alike 
for several years now, for example with regard to the effects of large 
online platforms on business models, public discourse, and political 
polarization.

This workshop of the DVPW Working Group Digitalization and Politics will 
zoom in on the political implications of platformization. It deals with 
the interactions between platformization and policies, politics, 
political institutions, and regulatory action. The workshop will also 
engage with related questions of power, social inequality, gender 
(in)justice, and sustainability. It aims at gathering current research 
about the political implications of platform governance from all ca-reer 
levels. The contributions will be organized in thematic panels and each 
presentation or paper will receive extensive and constructive feedback. 
The workshop will allow for exchange in Eng-lish and German, and the 
organizers commit themselves to a working climate of respect and 
empowerment. We are interested in empirical and theoretical papers and 
encourage the submis-sion of qualitative and quantitative methods, as 
well as early work. Contributions can address, but are not limited, to 
the following topics:

- Platform regulation and governance
- Social media; public spheres; political communication
- Business models; gig work
- Gig/sharing economy
- Smart city; sustainability
- Political participation; democratic representation
- Resistance and collective action

Relevant work in these and other areas explores how platformization 
plays out in political insti-tutions and processes, for example how 
platforms shape the work of public agencies, political parties, activist 
and interest groups, etc. Do platforms, for instance, propagate market 
logics, or are their activities mediated by other organizational logics? 
Who are the winners and losers of platform economies and platform 
politics? In addition, the workshop will address timely ques-tions about 
how platforms can and should be regulated or governed and which 
political conflicts arise around platform governance.

The workshop will take place on 28–29 September at the University of 
Duisburg-Essen. Scholars interested in participating in the workshop are 
invited to submit a short proposal (max. 300 words) by 31 August 2022. 
Send your proposal in a PDF to platformgovern-ance at wzb.eu. Please 
indicate whether you intend to hand in a long or a short paper. Full 
papers (15-20 pages) or short papers (5 pages) are expected for 14 
September 2022 (2 weeks before the event).

In exceptional cases, travel and accommodation costs can be covered by 
the organizers – in case of need, please send a message to 
platformgovernance at wzb.eu.
-- 
Dr. Lena Ulbricht

Research Group Leader
Weizenbaum Institute for the Networked Society
WZB Berlin Social Science Center

Forschungsgruppenleiterin
Weizenbaum Institut für die vernetzte Gesellschaft
Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung (WZB)

Hardenbergstr. 32
D-10623 Berlin
Germany
Email: lena.ulbricht at wzb.eu
https://www.wzb.eu/en/persons/lena-ulbricht