40. Information Technology and Politics

Derrick Cogburn, Syracuse University, dcogburn@syr.edu

The purpose of the Information, Technology and Politics (ITP) section of APSA is to provide 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 between governments, societies and cultures, international institutions, and the private sector. Many of our members are interested in the governance of technologies and managing technological innovation. We are also interested in how these information and communication technologies are used in teaching and conducting research on policy and policy processes in political science and all related subfields and disciplines. 

The 2008 APSA Conference Theme, “Categories and the Politics of Global Inequalities,” provides a wonderful opportunity for ITP section members to explore the role and implications of information technology in relationship to global inequality. This year, we are particularly interested in broadening the focus of the section to include a broader socio-technical approach, including information systems, as well as more technical issues such as security, geographic information systems, agent-based modeling, search and retrieval technologies and strategies, and various policy issues such as privacy, freedom of expression, and intellectual property.

Specifically, the section encourages the submission of panels, roundtables, and papers on the implications of information technology, new media, and transnational networks on: (1) all aspects of the digital divide, (2) democratic participation in multistakeholder policy processes and global governance; (3) the global economy and socio-economic development.

We are interested in going beyond eGovernment.  It is not just about cool new technologies; but about asking how the Internet and these new communication technologies engage with and are influenced by core questions in political science in general, and specifically in sub-fields such as comparative politics, public administration, and international political economy. In what ways can information and communication technologies (ICTs) and information systems contribute to enhancing or limiting participation in local, national, regional, and global policy processes (such as electronic town halls and political websites)?  Can ICTs create enhanced opportunities for participation in the global knowledge-based economy and strengthen societies (such as the growth of social networking sites, user generated content and Virtual reality worlds such as Second Life), or will they create further divisions and marginalization.  In what ways can ICTs influence transnational social movements and contribute to the emergence of a “global” civil society (such as through Blogs, blogging, webconferencing, podcasting, social network, citizen or user generated content)?  Do these new ICTs enhance or diminish power imbalances between developed and developing countries?

We hope to use the 2008 conference to stimulate new collaborations amongst diverse ITP scholars, including expanding our outreach to non-academic scholars and practitioners, and to encourage submissions to our organ, the Journal of Information Technology and Politics.

As with previous years, the ITP section is encouraging a wide range of interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary work that is both theoretical/conceptual and empirical in nature, and utilizes multiple methods of analysis. We are especially interested in proposals that would be good candidates for co-sponsorship with other sections.  These proposals should be submitted to both the ITP section and the potential co-sponsoring section (submitters may want to make a notation on their abstracts of potential co-sponsorship). Those submitting full panel proposals are also encouraged to leave one paper presenter position open so that a related single paper submission may be added to the panel, if appropriate.

We also encourage scholars who are working in non-academic settings relevant to ITP. Finally, we also encourage scholars to consider exploring ways to use new media technologies in their presentations, including data analysis, information visualization, and remote participation.