The Internet & Politics Standing Group (SG) promotes research and policy-oriented debate about the politics of the Internet by contributing and supporting the activities taking place within ECPR. It facilitates the organization of workshops on topics relating to the politics of the Internet at the ECPR joint sessions, sections and panels at the ECPR general conferences, and other activities within the framework of the ECPR.
Since its establishment in 2009 by Fabienne Greffet and Stephen Ward, the SG now counts more than 300 members. Membership of the group is open to any scholar with an interest in Internet politics broadly defined. Participation from PhD students is particularly encouraged. You can become a member by joining us through the ECPR website.
Focus & Aims
The Internet & Politics SG encompasses three main aspects of the study of Internet politics:
- Political Participation: By focusing on the democratic potential of Internet related technologies, this area includes: (1) theoretical work on technology and models of democracy; (2) empirical studies based around political participation and engagement; (3) organisational adaptation to, and use of, new technologies by political parties, social movements and parliaments; and (4) the extent to which technology has helped promote democracy movements and democratisation in authoritarian regimes.
- E-government: Addresses the role of technologies for government service provision, as well as the resultant impact of technologies internally, on governing structures, and externally, on the relationship between the general public and government and the private and public sectors.
- Internet Governance: This relates to policies concerned with governing, regulating and controlling the Internet, including analysis on the development of national and international structures created to governing the Internet. Moreover, it covers studies on more specific policy questions, particularly issues of surveillance, security and privacy online, questioning the extent to which the Internet can be governed and whether it promotes new policy challenges requiring new initiatives or is merely old issues in a new format.
Objectives
- Create a consolidated network and exchange for Internet research;
- Link Internet and Politics research to other fields, by promoting research on these issues from an interdisciplinary approach;
- Promote comparative and cross-national studies;
- Bridge and coordinate researchers in the field, especially younger scholars and PhD students;
- To liaise and develop collaborations with other similar international groups such as APSA’s Technology and Politics section, IPSA Research Committee on Electronic Democracy, the Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR), and other Standing Groups active at the ECPR like SGs on Comparative Politics, Social Networks etc..
Please contact the convenors of the SG for any further information
