[ecrea] Call for Papers: Disinformation and digital media as a challenge for democracy

CALL FOR PAPERS
DISINFORMATION AND DIGITAL MEDIA AS A CHALLENGE FOR DEMOCRACY

European Integration and Democracy Series, Vol. 6
The Centre for Direct Democracy Studies (CDDS) at the Faculty of Law of 
the University of Białystok, Poland
(UwB) is pleased to announce a call for papers for the upcoming sixth 
volume in the European Integration
and Democracy Series, devoted to challenges for democracy, the rule of 
law (Rechtsstaat) and the respect
for fundamental rights, posed by contemporary disinformation practices 
and digital media.
For the present volume, the Centre will work together with the Research 
Group on Law, Science, Technology
and Society (LSTS) at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Belgium and 
the Department of Media and
Communication of Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR), the Netherlands. 
The planned book will be co-edited
by Elżbieta Kużelewska (CDDS), Georgios Terzis (VUB), Daniel Trottier 
(EUR) and Dariusz Kloza (VUB).

Background to the research question
This book is motivated, to a large extent, by the recent developments in 
information, misinformation and
disinformation practices. From the beginning of history, various and 
diverse means or channels of
communication have been employed to inform, misinform (unintentionally) 
and disinform (deliberately); the
book will focus mainly on the last of these practices, frequently 
labelled ‘fake news’. Yet, in recent decades,
the emergence and progress of new information and communications 
technologies (ICT), combined with the
ever more increasing digitalisation and globalisation of almost every 
aspect of modern life, have opened new
and uncharted avenues to that end. The 2016 referendum on the departure 
of the United Kingdom from the
European Union (the so-called ‘Brexit’) and the presidential elections 
in the United States – and related,
alleged disinformation practices – are perhaps the strongest reminder of 
the importance and power of
disinformation in society. These developments, in turn, bring about 
profound ramifications for the very
existence and functioning of a democratic polity. In particular, they 
affect the values and principles on which
the European integration project as well as many other Western 
democratic polities have been built: human
dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law (Rechtsstaat) and 
respect for human rights, among
others. These democratic polities are only at an early stage of 
understanding the implications of disinformation
practices and digital media. Therefore, the relations between democracy 
and these practices merit critical
analysis and academic attention.

Topics of interest
This edited book aims to contribute to a better understanding of 
contemporary disinformation practices and
digital media. Its overall goal is to map and analyse their impacts on 
democracy sensu largo and, eventually,
to draw lessons for the future. More concretely, the book will explore 
topics such as:
▪ setting the scene: mapping and delineating ‘fake news’, ‘post-truth’, 
‘alternative facts’ and other catchall
terms related to contemporary disinformation practices; mapping and 
delineating contemporary
‘digital’ media; exploring their forms, contents, meaning, causes, 
historical development as well as the
benefits and threats that they might pose both to individuals, groups 
and societies;
▪ modus operandi: the functioning, purposes and power of disinformation 
in human life and in society;
the role of emotions, emerging technologies (e.g. social media and other 
platforms, algorithms, artificial
intelligence), relevant social practices (e.g. manipulation, propaganda, 
surveillance) as well as other
factors (e.g. media literacy) in disinforming;
▪ democracy: the relation between these disinformation practices, on the 
one hand, and democracy, on the
other; especially their impacts on and their ramifications for 
democratic values (e.g. pluralism, veracity,
trust) and processes (e.g. public debates, elections and 
accountability), the rule of law (Rechtsstaat), and
the respect for human rights (e.g. fair trial, freedom of expression, 
privacy and personal data protection);
▪ case studies: the changes brought about by these disinformation 
practices to various sectors of public life, e.g. macro- and micro 
economy, banking, finance, business, innovation, research and technology 
development, religion, media, arts and culture, etc.; the change brought 
about to specific societal challenges, e.g. migration, climate change, 
hate speech, etc., the change brought about to individual countries 
(jurisdictions);
▪ roles and responsibilities: identifying the key actors – 
policy-makers, media outlets, journalists, service providers, technology 
developers, non-governmental organisations, religious associations, 
artists, etc. and the public at large – and discussing their roles and 
responsibilities in the production and circulation of as well as in 
confronting disinformation; the consequences of such confrontation for 
democracy, the rule of law (Rechtsstaat) and the respect for fundamental 
rights.
Moreover, the Editors welcome further proposals for topics to be 
explored. The book will take a broad, interdisciplinary perspective, 
analysing the subject-matter from the diverse viewpoints of philosophy, 
ethics, law, history, political science, economy, business management, 
sociology, psychology, geography, linguistics, computer science, 
journalism and media studies, science and technology studies (STS), 
among others. In addition, comparative analyses are strongly encouraged.

Envisaged timeline
20 July 2018 – deadline for extended abstracts (1st stage) (extended)
31 July 2018 – invitation to submit full contributions
15 October 2018 – deadline for final submissions (2nd stage)
30 November 2018 – notification of acceptance after double blind 
peer-review process
31 December 2018 – deadline for submission of a camera-ready version
ca. June 2019 – book ready

Information for the authors
▪ Submissions are made in a two-stage procedure:
- in the 1st stage, extended abstracts (ca. 1,500 – 3,000 words) will be 
evaluated by the Editors to assess their quality and suitability to the 
overall project;
- in the 2nd stage, full submissions will undergo a double, blind 
peer-review process by appointed, external and anonymous reviewers.
▪ Full contributions should normally be between 6,000 – 15,000 words; 
contributions of both shorter and higher word length may also be 
submitted, subject to negotiation with the Editors.
▪ Submissions should be made anonymously in British English and sent via 
the EasyChair platform at https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=eids6.
▪ The Authors will not be remunerated for their contributions.
▪ Questions, if any, are welcome at (eids6 /at/ easychair.org).

European Integration and Democracy Series
A well-established book series, European Integration and Democracy was 
launched in 2011 at the Centre for Direct Democracy Studies (CDDS) at 
the University of Białystok, where is its managed and edited. Since 
2014, the Series is published by Intersentia, a reputable international 
publishing house based in Belgium and the United Kingdom. Each volume in 
the Series tackles a timely, pressing issue that is of utmost importance 
for the European integration project and, at the same time, that poses a 
challenge to the values and principles on which this project has been 
built. Up to date, the Series has produced five edited volumes, 
analysing – through that lens – issues ranging from the elections to the 
European Parliament to trans-Atlantic data privacy relations, to 
migration.1 All books in the Series originate from a call for papers and 
the submissions received go through a double, blind peer-review process, 
in accordance with the Guaranteed Peer-Review Contents (GPRC) standard.
Elżbieta KUŻELEWSKA, Georgios TERZIS, Daniel TROTTIER and Dariusz KLOZA

1 These are: E. Kużelewska and D. Kloza (eds.), The Challenges of Modern 
Democracy and European Integration, European Integration and Democracy 
Series, Vol. 1, Aspra-JR: Warsaw-Białystok 2012, 249 pp.; E. Kużelewska 
and D. Kloza (eds.), Elections to the European Parliament as a Challenge 
for Democracy, European Integration and Democracy Series, Vol. 2, 
Aspra-JR: Warsaw-Białystok 2013, 371 pp.; E. Kużelewska, D. Kloza, I. 
Kraśnicka and F. Strzyczkowski (eds.), European Judicial Systems as a 
Challenge for Democracy, European Integration and Democracy Series, Vol. 
3, Intersentia: Cambridge 2015, 244 pp.; D.J.B. Svantesson and D. Kloza 
(eds.), Trans-Atlantic Data Privacy Relations as a Challenge for 
Democracy, European Integration and Democracy Series, Vol. 4, 
Intersentia, Cambridge 2017, 567 pp.; E. Kużelewska, A. Weatherburn and 
D. Kloza (eds.) Irregular Migration as a Challenge for Democracy, 
European Integration and Democracy Series, Vol. 5, Intersentia, 
Cambridge 2018, 334 pp.


---------------
The COMMLIST
---------------
This mailing list is a free service offered by Nico Carpentier. Please
use it responsibly and wisely.
--
To subscribe or unsubscribe, please visit http://commlist.org/
--
Before sending a posting request, please always read the guidelines at
http://commlist.org/
--
To contact the mailing list manager:
Email: (nico.carpentier /at/ vub.ac.be)
URL: http://nicocarpentier.net
---------------