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Priscilla M. Regan, George Mason University, pregan@gmu.edu

The Information, Technology and Politics (ITP) section provides a forum for scholars interested in understanding how information and communication technologies, especially the Internet and new media, are transforming politics and political processes, and how they are altering existing relationships within and among governments, societies and cultures, international institutions, and the non-profit and private sectors.

The 2009 APSA Conference Theme, "Politics in Motion," emphasizes the context of change and complexity, as well as the challenges shaping the contemporary era. This theme provides numerous connections with the research questions and problems that ITP section members are exploring and analyzing, including: how do information and communication technologies (ICTs) affect political, economic, social and organizational changes; how do emerging ICTs create new opportunities for political participation and how might such participation be selectively conditioned; when do ICTs facilitate changes in traditional organizational and national boundaries, and with what effects; and, how have ICTs contributed to and altered our understanding of complexity in political and social contexts.

The ITP section encourages the submission of panels, papers and roundtables that involve both theoretical/conceptual and empirical approaches, address questions and problems with significant policy implications, utilize multiple methods of analysis, and are multidisciplinary. We are especially interested in proposals that would be good candidates for co-sponsorship with other sections.