CfP: ECPR conference (section Internet & Politics), Reykjavik (Iceland), 25-27 August 2011

Please find below a call for panel proposals for the section Internet & politics at the
next ECPR General Conference and the calls for papers for four panels :

- Internet and Politics : bridging current research and oulining future directions
(Calderaro, Kavada) - deadline : 1st september 2010
- New frontiers in studying online politics (Lorenzo Mosca) - deadline : August 30, 2010
- Digital media and participatory democracy : Bridging the Political Gap ? (Yanina Welp
and Clelia Colombo) - deadline : August 27
- Digital politics : Collective action born in and from the Internet (Mayo Fuster and
Johanna Niesyto) - deadline : August 30

CALL FOR PANEL PROPOSALS

6th ECPR General Conference
University of Iceland, Reykjavík
25 - 27 August 2011
Section Internet & Politics

Within the framework of the next ECPR General Conference, the Standing Group “Internet
and Politics” is supporting the organization of the following section :
Title of Section : Internet and Politics : bridging current research and outlining
future directions

Deadline : 1st September 2010

Section Directors
Andrea Calderaro, European University Institute
Anastasia Kavada, University of Westminster

Abstract
In the last two decades, Information and Communication Technologies have generated an
extensive debate on whether and how they affect the political sphere. While the field
was initially divided into ‘cyber-optimist’ and ‘cyber-pessimist’ accounts, today a
growing body of empirical research has moved away from this binary opposition by
rendering a more balanced and nuanced account of the link between digital technology and
democratic politics.
Expanding on some of the themes addressed in the ‘Internet and Politics’ section in
Potsdam, the proposed section aims to enhance cross-fertilization in this fast-moving
field of research. The purpose is to establish clear lines of dialogue between diverse
theoretical and methodological approaches by bringing together scholars who are studying
the role of the internet for different actors (political parties, social movements,
non-governmental organizations etc.). This section will link panels that explore how key
concepts in political science – such as activism, political participation, public
opinion, and campaigning – are affected by the growing integration of Information and
Communication Technologies in Politics.
Thus, this section invites panels that address : 1. Conceptual and theoretical
frameworks, which help to provide a solid basis for this enquiry,
2. Methodological issues, discussing the challenges encountered by researchers in the
field and the solutions, both quantitative and qualitative, that they can employ
3. Empirical results that advance our understanding of the connection between the
Internet and political engagement, campaigning and organizing.

How to propose a panel
Panel proposals should be submitted no later than 1st of September 2010, through the
formal process and propose a panel on the ECPR website :
http://www.ecprnet.eu/conferences/general_conference/Reykjavik/propose_a_panel.asp. Please find here further and detailed information on the process here : http://www.ecprnet.eu/conferences/general_conference/Reykjavik/documents/Panel_Chair_Guidelines_and_Deadlines.pdf Panel proposals should include
:
1) Title of the proposed panel
2) Chair, and (if applicable) (Co-Chair, name, institution and contact details)
3) Panel abstract (about 200 words)

The section will include a minimum of 3 and maximum of 8 panels. The process of
selecting panels will be based on the following criteria : 1) relevance of the panel
proposal to the section topic ; 2) balance of the various topics in the field covered by
the section ; 3) balance of academic institutions represented in the proposal.

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PANEL : New frontiers in studying online politics

CHAIR : Lorenzo Mosca (European University Institute)
lorenzo.mosca AT ymail.com

DEADLINE : August 30th, 2010

ABSTRACT :
During the past decade online politics has become an important field of studies, which
has grown dramatically. However, the attention for methodological aspects has often been
weak and unsystematic. Our goal thus lies in illuminating such issues, both in term of
theoretical paradigms and research techniques.
As for the former, we will consider both more consolidated theory-guided paradigms and
emerging and explorative perspectives. As for the latter, we will address both
quantitative and qualitative methods. Especially since the emergence of web 2.0,
scholars of political participation are getting more and more interested in online
politics. We need to understand what such research tells us about the second generation
of web applications in order to understand if these phenomena are at all new.
As a new portion of the public sphere, we are especially interested in the discursive
dynamics taking place in cyberspace and in the new research tools developed to study
dialogical processes. Some of the questions we want to raise are as follows : are
explorative perspectives (i.e. grounded theory approach) able to uncover new political
phenomena in cyberspace that go beyond our existing theoretical lenses ? Are
consolidated theoretical paradigms of political participation capable of shedding light
on the black box of online politics ? Which are pros and cons of different research
techniques applied to online politics ?

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PANEL : Digital media and participatory democracy : Bridging the Political Gap ?

Chair :
Yanina Welp
Center for Research on Direct Democracy (C2D), Zentrum für Demokratie Aarau (ZDA)

Co-Chair :
Clelia Colombo
Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB)

First deadline : August 27th, 2010
Send proposals to yanina.welp AT zda.uzh.ch and/or
ccolombo AT gencat.cat

Abstract
Since the 1980s has been an intensive promotion of participatory experiences in
different areas of the world. Some of these experiences were associated with the
restoration of democracy and/or a new discourse from the left. New participative
practices arise with the aim of approaching political representatives and citizens,
making the politics more transparent. Information and communication technologies (ICTs)
have reinforced the trend with the goals of revitalizing democracy, increasing
transparency in public management and spreading new political communication and
participatory spaces. ICTs are facilitating participatory practices with more extense
and direct information and a bigger communication between political representatives and
represented.
The aim of this workshop is to explore to what extent information and communication
technologies facilitate participatory practices in the public sphere and in particular,
analyse what fosters citizen e-Participation experiences promotion ? Which factors
determine its development ? What does its functioning depends on ? The panel wishes to
attract empirical, comparative and also theoretical papers which deal with the issue of
Information and Communication Technologies incorporation into participatory democracy.

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PANEL : Digital politics : Collective action born in and from the Internet

Deadline first round of call for papers abstracts : 30st August 2010
Send papers proposal to : mayo.fuster AT eui.eu

Panel abstract

So far, political science research has focused on the use of the Internet by collective
political actors that had their main operational base in the offline realm. First
studies on the Internet and politics mainly concentrated mostly on well-established and
traditional actors such public administration and political parties. Then the cope of
research widened to include interest groups, NGOs and social movements looking at the
impact of the Internet and the type of Internet use carried out by those groups. In
particular, given the growing importance of political campaigns and other forms of
collective action that are launched and carried out by networks of political actors,
that mainly, if not completely operate and mobilize for their issues online, the debate
on the Internet and politics could benefit further from considering actors who mainly
operation with an online base. Interestingly, the emergence of collective action in
online environments apparently follows new forms of "networked" forms of action and
collaboration that are said to be different from political actors with a mainly offline
base.
The panel "Digital politics" aims to iniciate a discussion on the main organizational
and democratic logic of the collective action born in and from the Internet addressing
questions such as : What are the main characteristics of participation in online base
collective action ? How are boundaries drawn between the individual and the collective
in such forms ? How can we deal with the dialectics of individualization on one hand and
the effects of de-personalization on the other hand that are inscribed in online spaces
? How is the online space governed and how does its architecture structure online
interaction ? Finally, which methods are best suited to analyze the practices and
dynamics of collective action online adequately ?

Co-chairs : Mayo Fuster Morell (European University Institute) and Johanna Niesyto
(University of Siegen)
Discussant : Sigrid Baringhorst (University of Siegen)

About the co-chairs

Mayo Fuster Morell did a doctoral research on “The Governance of platforms of
participation for the building of digital commons” supervised by Prof. Donatella della
Porta at the European University Institute. She explores the democratic logic of the
Internet in knowledge-making processes and the relationship between governance model and
community growth. She compares World Social Forum, Flickr, Wikihow and Wikipedia
governance models (http://www.onlinecreation.info). Last
year she was visiting researcher at the School of Information – UC Berkeley and provided
teaching assistance at the Communication Department – Stanford University. She co-wrote
the books “Rethinking political organisation in an age of movements and networks” (XL
Editorial : Rome 2007) ; “Activist research and social movements” (Spanish) (El Viejo
Topo : Barcelona 2005) ; and “Guide for social transformation of Catalonia” (Catalan)
(Edicions Col.lectives : Barcelona 2003). Mayo Fuster Morell is promotor of the
International forum on free culture and access to knowledge
(www.fcforum.net) and Networked Politics Collaborative research
(http://www.networked-politics.info).

Johanna Niesyto is PhD student in political sciences. She works as research fellow in
the project ‘Changing Protest and Media Cultures’ at the Collaborative Research Centre
‘Media Upheavals’ at the University of Siegen (Germany). Her key interests cover
globalization, public spaces, democracy, political campaigns, contentious politics,
political consumerism, cyber culture and social web. In her thesis she looks at
Wikipedia as translingual public space of political knowledge production. Johanna is
co-editor and author of "Politik mit dem Einkaufswagen" (Politics with the shopping
trolley) and "Political Campaigning on the Web". Also, she has helped organizing several
conferences such as CPOV
(<http://networkcultures.org/wpmu/cpov/>http://networkcultures.org/wpmu/cpov/). For more
information see :
<http://transnationalspaces.wordpress.com>http://transnationalspaces.wordpress.com About
the discussant

Sigrid Baringhorst (Prof. Dr. phil.) is working as professor at the department of social
sciences in the field of comparative political studies and political sociology. She is
director of the research project ’Changing Protest and Media Cultures’ at the
Collaborative Research Centre ‘Media Upheavals’ at the University of Siegen (Germany).
Her key interest cover political communication, social movement studies and politics and
policies of migration. She is co-editor and author of numerous publications such as
"Politik mit dem Einkaufswagen" (Politics with the shopping trolley), "Political
Campaigning on the Web" and "Politik als Kampagne" (Politics as campaign).