[Commlist] CFP Good bye, anarchy? Internet politics in the 21st century

/This is a reminder for our two-day workshop “Good bye, anarchy? 
Internet politics in the 21st century” that we organize during the 
Annual Convention of the Belgian Association for Political Science (VPW) 
and the Dutch Political Science Association (NKWP) in Antwerp (13 and 14 
June 2019). This workshop consists of four panels aimed at unfolding the 
tensions around the regulation of the internet. Which actors try to 
limit internet freedoms, which actors try to defend them, and what are 
their motivations? What is the institutional context of their 
contestations? And finally, what could the internet look like in the 
future?/

//

/Below, you will find a more detailed description of our panel.//Please 
send your abstract (max 300 words) and contact details to Thomas R. 
Eimer (//(t.eimer /at/ fm.ru.nl) <mailto:(t.eimer /at/ fm.ru.nl)>//) and Daniëlle 
Flonk (//(flonk /at/ hertie-school.org) <mailto:(flonk /at/ hertie-school.org)>//) by 
15 March 2018, at the latest. If you have any questions, please do not 
hesitate to contact us./

//

/More information on the Convention can be found under: 
//https://politicologenetmaal.eu//

//

+++

*Good bye, anarchy? Internet politics in the 21st century*

*Chairs*

Thomas R. Eimer (Radboud Universiteit), (t.eimer /at/ fm.ru.nl) 
<mailto:(t.eimer /at/ fm.ru.nl)>

Daniëlle Flonk (Hertie School of Governance), (flonk /at/ hertie-school.org) 
<mailto:(flonk /at/ hertie-school.org)>

*Short description*

Our panel aims at unfolding the tensions around the regulation of the 
internet. Which actors try to limit internet freedoms, which actors try 
to defend them, and what are their motivations? What is the 
institutional context of their contestations? And finally, what could 
the internet look like in the future?

*Long abstract*

Conventional wisdom perceives the internet as a free harbor for all 
kinds of social, cultural, and economic interactions. At least 
implicitly, this perception is linked to the internet pioneers’ vision 
of a digital sphere of freedom and independence. Empirically, however, 
this perception can hardly be upheld anymore. National and international 
authorities are increasingly interfering with the internet via 
regulation in various fields. The prevention of hate speech and fake 
news upright to online censorship are the most prominently discussed 
examples. But international organizations and bureaucracies also limit 
the openness of the internet by intellectual property and privacy 
regulations, the persecution of cybercrime and cyberterrorism, and 
intermediary liability regulation. At the same time, large private 
companies (e.g. Google, Facebook) are increasingly dominating the most 
popular spaces within the internet and create entry barriers for newcomers.

At the same time, however, we are witnessing countervailing dynamics. 
For instance, the European Commission refers to antitrust measures to 
avoid oligopolistic strictures, and the European Parliament understands 
itself as the guardian of net neutrality. Simultaneously, civil society 
actors defend the openness of the internet both inside and outside the 
institutionalized decision-making structures. While their engagement for 
internet freedom is essentially based on idealistic motivations, many 
dark net participants also have commercial reasons to insist on an 
uncontrolled digital sphere.

Our panel aims at unfolding the tensions around the regulation of the 
digital sphere. Which actors try to limit internet freedoms, which 
actors try to defend them, and what are their motivations? What is the 
institutional context (national, international, global) of their 
contestations? And finally, what are the immediate consequences, and 
what could the internet look like in the future? We are looking forward 
to empirical (both quantitative and qualitative), conceptual, and 
normative contributions.

*Language papers*: English

*Language discussion*: English

*Please send your abstract (max 300 words) and contact details to 
Daniëlle Flonk and Thomas R. Eimer by March 15, 2018, at the latest.*


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