[A2k] Third Annual GigaNet Symposium

Tue Apr 8 08:42:08 2008

Dear Friends,

** Apologies for Cross Posting **

Third Annual GigaNet Symposium.

2 December 2008 - .
(HICC).
Call for Papers.

CFP URL on GigaNet website: http://tinyurl.com/ynsuuf

The Global Internet Governance Academic Network (GigaNet) is a scholarly
community that promotes the development of Internet governance as a
recognized, interdisciplinary field of study and facilitates informed
dialogue on policy issues and related matters between scholars and
governments, international organizations, the private sector, and civil
society.

Each year, GigaNet organizes a one-day research symposium in conjunction
with the United Nations Internet Governance Forum (IGF) and in the same
premises. After the first two editions in Athens, Greece (October 2006)
and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (November 2007), the third GigaNet Annual
Symposium will be held on December 2, 2008, in Hyderabad, India, the day
before the 3rd IGF meeting. Attendance at the Symposium will be open to
all and free of charge. The Symposium will be at the same location as
the IGF and registration with the UN as an IGF participant may be
necessary to gain entry to the building.

This is a call for papers from scholars interested in presenting an
original research paper at the conference.

Submission topics

In addition to papers on methodological aspects of Internet
governance-related studies, this year's Symposium particularly
encourages submissions on the following themes, which are described in
more detail below:
1. Comparing Internet Governance to other Global Governance Domains
2. Networked Governance Theories and the Institutionalization of
Internet Governance
3. The Role of NGOs, Social Movements and Civil Society in Internet
Governance
4. Year 3 of the UN Internet Governance Forum: Assessing its Structure,
Process and Impact
5. Law and Jurisdictions in Internet Governance
6. Copyright Protection, Internet Service Providers and Technical
Mechanisms of Control
7. Internationalized Domain Names: Expanding Access or ?

Submission requirements

Applicants should submit:

1) an abstract of 800-1000 words, in English, of the proposed paper that
describes the main research question(s), methods employed, and the
paper=92s relevance and value to the thematic area; and

2) a one page summary curriculum vitae listing in particular the
applicant=92s current institutional affiliation(s), advanced degrees,
scholarly publications relevant to Internet governance, and web sites,
if available.

Submission materials should be emailed directly to the chairperson of
the 2008 Program Committee, Dr. Meryem Marzouki, at
Meryem.Marzouki@lip6.fr <mailto:Meryem.Marzouki@lip6.fr> by no later
than July 15, 2008, midnight GMT.

Members of the 2008 program committee will review submissions according
to the same criteria. In order to ensure fairness of the evaluation
process, submissions that do not conform to the requested format will
not be considered.

The Program Committee will notify applicants of its decisions via email
by September 15, 2008.

A full paper upon which oral or poster presentation will be based must
be delivered to the same address by October 10, 2008, midnight GMT in
order for the author(s) to be included in the program.

While GigaNet asserts no copyright to authors=92 work, it is expected that
the version of the paper presented orally or as poster will be made
available for posting on the GigaNet website.

Travel scholarships for a few outstanding accepted papers may be
available for scholars who would otherwise be unable to attend.
Applicants who are accepted will be informed of these opportunities
after September 15.

2008 GigaNet Symposium Program Committee:
- Ana Abreu, Labeurb/Unicamp and Paulista University, Campinas (SP), Brazil
- Slavka Antonova, Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand
- Meryem Marzouki, LIP6/PolyTIC-CNRS Laboratory, Paris, France (Chair)
- John Mathiason, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs,
Syracuse University, Syracuse (NY), USA
- Milton Mueller, Syracuse University School of Information Studies,
Syracuse (NY), USA
- Max Senges, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain
- Rolf H. Weber, University of Z=FCrich, Z=FCrich, Switzerland

Important dates:

- 15 July 2008: abstract submission deadline (to be sent to:
_Meryem.Marzouki@lip6.fr_ <mailto:Meryem.Marzouki@lip6.fr>)
- 15 September 2008: notification to applicants
- 10 October 2008: full papers due
- 15 October 2008: 2008 GigaNet symposium program finalized
- 2 December 2008: 2008 GigaNet symposium, HICC,

Topics Description

1. Comparing Internet Governance to other Global Governance Domains
The concept of global governance has flourished in a number of fields:
trade, security, environment, development -- as well as Internet.
However, most general analyses of global governance ignore global
Internet governance. Conversely, very few Internet governance analyses
are conducted through comparative frameworks. Submissions are invited to
help frame Internet governance in a broader, global governance
perspective. What could be learnt from experiences of global governance
in other fields? Are there any general instruments and methods of global
governance, irrespective of the domain area it addresses? Could some
similarities or invariants of a global governance process be identified?

2. Networked Governance Theories and the Institutionalization of
Internet Governance
The global policy discourse on Internet governance involves more diverse
actors and newly created institutions. There is a need to explore the
dynamics of this changing institutionalization process through
theoretical and empirical analysis. Recent work explores network forms
of organization in political and governance contexts, at national and
international levels, most notably with the concept of
=93transgovernmental networks=94 to solve sector-specific problems. We call
for papers that apply, test and criticize ideas of =93networked
governance=94 in the context of global Internet governance. We encourage
submissions that analyze collaborative policy-making in related
institutions and interactions between them. We are especially interested
in papers that critically analyze these forms of governance in terms of
fairness and accountability and their relationship to democratic
principles. Can presently excluded or minority communities enhance their
participation? Beyond the expert discourse and the interplay amongst
dedicated stakeholders, can networked governance represent people,
rather than just established interests and agencies? What are the
available tools and practices to facilitate their participation and
deliberation, in terms of discourse, collaboration and decision-making?

3. Role of NGOs, Social Movements and Civil Society in Internet Governance
Important but subtle transformations have occurred in the role and
participation of non-governmental and non-business actors in the 6 years
since the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS). WSIS witnessed a
somewhat usual situation, where organized social actors participated
from inside the process through structured non-governmental
organizations, and social movements exercised some more radical pressure
from the outside. Since the creation of the UN Internet Governance Forum
(IGF), this mode of participation has turned into a =93consensus-based
cooperation=94, where civil society actors are supposed to contribute on
equal footing with governments and business actors, in most cases in
their individual capacity and rather disconnected from social movements.
We seek papers that analyze the evolution of involved social actors and
their structuring, especially with regards to the historical evolution
of the concept of civil society, and to explore in which ways and to
what extent these transformations may be related to the move from
government to governance.

4. Year 3 of the UN Internet Governance Forum: Assessing its Structure,
Process and Impact
The WSIS created and mandated the IGF to address critical, value-adding
global Internet governance functions that cannot be entirely performed
by any existing institution. This includes: highlighting emerging
issues, assessing the embodiment of WSIS principles, and strengthening
the participation of stakeholders in Internet governance mechanisms.
Furthermore, the IGF was defined as =93multilateral, multi-stakeholder,
democratic and transparent=94 body; it has been structured through a
Secretariat, a multi-stakeholder advisory group (MAG), and a special
advisory group to the MAG=92s chair; and for 3 years, it has been
operating as an open discursive space, prepared through open
consultation sessions. Submissions are invited to explore whether the
IGF has fulfilled its mandate at this step, which difficulties can be
identified and how they could be solved. Has the IGF structure,
management and advisory mechanisms proven to be adequate and compliant
with the WSIS Tunis Agenda requirements? What strengths could be
reinforced and weaknesses overcome?

5. Law and Jurisdictions in Internet Governance
The Internet must now be considered a major factor when elaborating
regulatory principles to deal with the circulation of content and data
and with the protection of the general communications infrastructure.
This is not an easy task because of its implications on the respect for
universal human rights, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law, where
States differ widely on their implementation of these international
standards, even among coherent regional entities. The task becomes even
more complex due to conflicts of competences among overlapping
jurisdictions. We seek papers that identify and explore conflicts among
national laws and attempts to harmonize them. We also seek papers that
explore the relevance to the global Internet of public and private
international law currently in force or being considered in ongoing
international negotiations. Submissions analyzing the role and positions
of various players in these processes are also encouraged.

6. Copyright Protection, Internet Service Providers and Technical
Mechanisms of Control
We encourage papers that examine attempts to impose copyright protection
on the Internet through the intermediary of Internet service providers.
This theme bridges the topics of network neutrality and intellectual
property, inspired by recent incidents, such as a Belgian ISP=92s order by
a court to use deep packet inspection to catch copyright infringement in
transit, and Comcast's notorious interference with BitTorrent, which
also was probably stimulated in part by copyright protection concerns.
Papers can explore the feasibility and =93state of the art=94 of packet
inspection and other relevant techniques, analyze copyright industry and
ISP industry interactions from a political economy standpoint, or
examine appropriate policy responses to new and powerful packet
inspection techniques.

7. Internationalized Domain Names: Expanding Access or ?
We encourage papers on the economic, cultural and compatibility issues
raised by the migration to a new standard for Internet domain names that
allows them to reflect non-Roman scripts such as Chinese or Cyrillic.
Internationalized domain names (IDNs) have a double-edged effect: they
widen access for non-English or ASCII readers by making domain names
easier to use, but they also introduce compatibility problems among
people communicating across language boundaries, as one party may not
know how to read or input the address of the other party. There are also
interesting questions of competition policy, as the Internet Corporation
for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) must decide whether to give new
generic top level domains (TLDs) in IDN scripts to incumbents operating
ASCII TLDs with similar meanings, or to new competitors. Issues of
consumer confusion and cross-linguistic disputes can also arise.

--
____________________________________________
Roshni Nuggehalli

IT for Change
Bridging Development Realities and Technological Possibilities
Tel: (00-91-80) 2665 4134, 2653 6890
Fax: (00-91-80) 4146 1055
www.ITforChange.net