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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">Dear all, </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">We are happy to announce a new Special
Issue on polycentricity in digital governance in </span><i><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">Info</span>rmation,
Communication & Society</i>, edited by Matthew Dylag, Daniëlle Flonk,
Cristiana Lauri and Morshed Mannan. Access the Open Access introduction here: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2025.2552374" style="color:rgb(70,120,134);text-decoration:underline">https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2025.2552374</a>. <span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">The SI addresses how polycentricity affects trust and
legitimacy in digital governance along four dimensions: governance, actors,
values, and tools. <span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Segoe UI Emoji",sans-serif">-</span> <b>Governance</b>: Positions on how to
govern the digital realm are dispersed, and perspectives on what should be
governed in the first place are diffuse. This has implications for trust and
legitimacy: vulnerable groups, for instance, are required to trust opaque
techno-social systems. <span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Segoe UI Emoji",sans-serif">-</span> <b>Actors</b>: A wide range of actors
has overlapping domains of authority and diverse expertise, such as
international organizations, states, digital communities, and users. In order
to make polycentric governance work, these actors have to cooperate, often across
sectors and borders.<span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Segoe UI Emoji",sans-serif">-</span> <b>Values</b>: Reasons and normative
goals for digital governance vary, leading to governance challenges. Different
actors focus on different values, for instance, transparency and
accountability, freedom of speech, human rights, or sovereignty. Contradicting values
can lead to a decay in trust and legitimacy.<span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Segoe UI Emoji",sans-serif">-</span> <b>Tools</b>: A variety of laws,
regulations, private rules, norms, standards and technologies are used to
govern the digital. A combination of these tools can increase trust and
legitimacy, but not every tool is equally effective. <span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">With six wonderful and insightful contributions across
disciplines and topics:<span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Segoe UI Emoji",sans-serif">-</span> Matthew Dylag compares how the
EU, Canada and the US legislate AI to uncover their underlying policy goals. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2025.2556745" style="color:rgb(70,120,134);text-decoration:underline">https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2025.2556745</a>
<span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Segoe UI Emoji",sans-serif">-</span> Morshed Mannan, Primavera De
Filippi & Tara Merk research how perceptions about legitimate governance
blockchain-based metaverses shape users' decisions to exit, voice or remain
loyal. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2025.2523978" style="color:rgb(70,120,134);text-decoration:underline">https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2025.2523978</a>
<span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Segoe UI Emoji",sans-serif">- </span>Isadora Borges Monroy assesses
deputized surveillance as a central mechanism in data gathering in US policing.
<a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2025.2505696" style="color:rgb(70,120,134);text-decoration:underline">https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2025.2505696</a>
<span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Segoe UI Emoji",sans-serif">-</span> Lucas Henrique Muniz Conceição
investigates the relationship between digital constitutionalism and democracy,
and how individuals navigate governance both as citizens of states and users of
digital platforms. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2025.2492572" style="color:rgb(70,120,134);text-decoration:underline">https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2025.2492572</a>
<span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Segoe UI Emoji",sans-serif">-</span> Ellie Rennie, Jason Potts &
Joshua Tan assess to what extent groups of validators have power over
blockchain networks, which requires politics to control. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2025.2455116" style="color:rgb(70,120,134);text-decoration:underline">https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2025.2455116</a><span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">- Jan Aart Scholte wrote insightful concluding reflections
on polycentricity and legitimacy in digital governance. <a href="http://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2026.2624711" style="color:rgb(70,120,134);text-decoration:underline">http://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2026.2624711</a>
<span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">Best,<span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">Matthew, Daniëlle, Cristiana and Morshed<span></span></p><br></div><div><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><p style="line-height:12.65pt;background:white"><span style="color:rgb(153,0,0)"><b><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;border:1pt windowtext;padding:0in">Dani</span></b><b><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">ë</span></b><b><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;border:1pt windowtext;padding:0in">lle Flonk </span></b><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;border:1pt windowtext;padding:0in"><b>/</b></span><b><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;border:1pt windowtext;padding:0in"> </span></b><span><b>フロンク ダニエラ</b></span><span></span></span><i><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;border:1pt windowtext;padding:0in;color:black" lang="EN-GB"></span></i><br><i><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;border:1pt windowtext;padding:0in;color:black" lang="EN-GB">Assistant Professor in International Relations and Politics<br></span></i></p><p style="line-height:12.65pt;background:white"><span style="color:rgb(153,0,0)"><b>Hitotsubashi University<br></b></span>Faculty of Law<br>Hitotsubashi Institute for Advanced Studies (HIAS)<br>Faculty Building 2, Room 625<br><a href="mailto:d.flonk@r.hit-u.ac.jp" target="_blank">d.flonk@r.hit-u.ac.jp</a> | @danielleflonk<span></span> | <b><a href="https://hri.ad.hit-u.ac.jp/html/100001780_profile_en.html" target="_blank">Website </a><br><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;border:1pt windowtext;padding:0in;color:rgb(9,73,118)" lang="IT"></span></b></p><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:rgb(153,0,0)"><b>Recent publications:<br></b></span><div><div><span><span><span><span>Flonk, D., & Debre, M. J. (2025). Hollow multilateralism: How autocracies contest the norms and procedures of international organizations. </span></span></span></span><i>International Affairs</i>, 101(4) 1463–1482. DOI: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/ia/iiaf104" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.1093/ia/iiaf104</a><div><div><br></div>
</div></div><div><span><span><span><span>Flonk, D.</span><span>, </span></span><span><span>Jachtenfuchs</span><span>, M. & </span></span><span><span>Obendiek. A.S.</span></span></span></span>
<span>(2024).</span>
<span>Controlling internet content in the EU: towards digital sovereignty.</span>
<span><i>Journal of European Public Policy</i>,</span> <i>31</i>(8), 2316-2342. <span>DOI: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2024.2309179" target="_blank">10.1080/13501763.2024.2309179</a></span>
</div></div><div><br></div><div><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"></span></div><div><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Flonk, D. (2021). Emerging illiberal norms: Russia and China as promoters of internet content control. <i>International Affairs</i>, <i>97</i>(6), 1925-1944. </span><a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/ia/iiab146" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.1093/ia/iiab146</a></div></div></div></div></div>