[ecrea] CFP for a Workshop on Internet Shutdowns in Africa

*_Internet Shutdowns in Africa _*

Workshop to be held from June 7-8, 2018 at the University of 
Johannesburg, South Africa

DEADLINE for CFP: March 15, 2018__

_The Internet Shutdowns in Africa_conference is a two-day programme 
aimed at sparking in-depth and productive conversations about the rise 
of internet shutdowns on the continent. It is organized by the 
ERC-funded ConflictNet programme at the University of Oxford’s Programme 
in Comparative Media Law and Policy, the Bonavero Institute for Human 
Rights, and the Department of Journalism, Film and Television at the 
University of Johannesburg’s School of Communication. The conference is 
convened by Nicole Stremlau and Eleanor Marchant.

There has been a dramatic increase in internet shutdowns in Africa. In 
2016, the number of shutdowns doubled from the previous year, affecting 
citizens in 11 countries on the continent. And while the number of 
shutdowns declined slightly in 2017, governments that resorted to 
disrupting the internet did so more frequently and for longer periods of 
time. From anti-government protests to Cameroon, to exam cheating in 
Ethiopia, concerns of election related violence in Uganda, and quelling 
social unrest in Zimbabwe, the justifications are diverse.

There is a pressing need for more in-depth research into the whys and 
hows governments are choosing to curtail internet access. In particular 
more research is urgently needed to answer questions around motivations, 
the legal and political processes that enable internet shutdowns to take 
place, the technological developments enhancing the ability and 
willingness for actors to resort to such measures, and the role that 
international and non-state actors like technology companies, ISPs, and 
governments are playing in this process.

The conference will be organized around such topics as:

·The legal processes enabling and preventing internet shutdowns

·Government discourse and decision-making processes around internet take 
down orders

·Motivations and justifications for internet shutdowns, including: 
elections, protests, conflict, terrorism, national security, hate 
speech, exam cheating, morality and ethics

·Technological innovation enabling greater internet disruption by 
governments

·Technological innovations helping citizens to cope with internet shutdowns

·Local ISPs’ responses and reactions to government take down orders

·The role of international actors, including foreign governments, 
regional and international institutions, and technology companies in 
enabling, inhibiting, or otherwise influencing the disruption of the 
internet

·National discussions about why some governments are choosing not to 
adopt this measure as well as more detailed understanding of which 
alternative methods are being adopted

This interdisciplinary conference welcomes abstracts from both academics 
and practitioners, particularly those from countries in Africa impacted 
by internet shutdowns. The goal is to gather experts and further 
knowledge in this urgent and under-studied area. We anticipate 
publishing a special issue with the accepted papers.

We are particularly interested in research building on empirical data, 
seeking to explain internet shutdowns in ways that are contextually rich 
(eg referring to the long-term struggles for expression or cultures of 
communication in a country or given countries) as well as comparative 
research analyzing this phenomenon across countries.

African scholars are strongly encouraged to apply and some funding is 
available for participants from Africa.

*Abstracts should be _around 300 _words and should be submitted to 
Eleanor Marchant at (_pcmlp /at/ csls.ox.ac.uk) <mailto:(pcmlp /at/ csls.ox.ac.uk)>_ 
along with the author’s short biography. Accepted abstracts will be 
notified soon after the deadline.

**



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