International Journal of E-Politics
SPECIAL ISSUE ON
E-Deliberation, Political Institutions, Online Political Networks and Public Engagement
Guest Editor: Anastasia Deligiaouri, Technological Educational Institute (TEI) of Western Macedonia, Kastoria, Greece
INTRODUCTION:
The concept of Deliberative Democracy originates from the work of J. Habermas, J. Rawls and several other scholars that tried to promote new forms of democratic engagement of citizens. The paradigm of Deliberative Democracy originates from the inadequacies of representative democracy and from the dissatisfaction of citizens with established democratic procedures. The concept of Deliberation introduces ways to re-engage citizens in political procedures, stimulate public dialogue, and allow the public sphere to be accessible to all citizens. Overall, deliberative procedures ensure that the final political decision stands as the outcome of a collaborative conversational process and as the outcome of a rational dialogue which encompasses the interests of citizens.
As such, the aim of adopting public deliberation is to lead to a decentralization of the public sphere and empowering of public participation. However, a great disagreement is also present between scholars regarding the ends or desired outcomes of such a deliberative procedure. Must we strive for an aggregative result or has the deliberation already fulfilled its democratic premise by just making a public hearing possible?
OBJECTIVE OF THE SPECIAL ISSUE:
How can the Internet facilitate the deliberation process? What standards should be met in order to advance the hidden peril of a new “digital divide”? The technologies of the Internet have boosted a live global community and enhanced citizens’ networks, even social movements, while the revolution of Web 2.0 technologies and social media reinvented online communication by promoting a new perception of sharing and creating in new social and public spaces. Social media sites, such as Facebook, Youtube, and others, have re-defined the concept of sociability, triggering online interaction and political activity. The acceptance of political blogs among Internet users worldwide has proven to be a focal point of this discussion as well. Online (E-) Deliberation is a “blossoming” yet evolving landscape with many questions to be answered.
RECOMMENDED TOPICS:
Due to growing online communities and the effort to re-conceptualize and reconsider democracy, this special issue of the International Journal of E-Politics invites papers (conceptual or empirical) that
include (but are not limited to) the following:
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Assessing informal and formal deliberation in on line communities. Is it possible to frame E-deliberation and to extract a political gain from E-deliberation for a society?
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Developing the framework (structure, infrastructure, software) to enable E-Deliberation
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Discourse, Arguments and Reason in on line communities. How the abstractive and encoded language of on line communities can support the articulation of a rational argument in public dialogue?
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E-Rulemaking, E-Consultation
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Factors that may interfere with the deliberative process. The problem of “digital divide’, freedom of expression, limits, boundaries acceptable constraints and implementation of the right of expression in on line communities
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Issues of equality, public reason, and anti-elite considerations and precautions for an open dialogue
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Organization and management of E-Deliberation
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Possible problems of strong civic opposition and the possibility of dealing with unresolved conflicts in E-Deliberation
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The new characteristic, skills and demands for “netizens” in order to participate efficiently and successfully in an E-Deliberation procedure
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The potential of ICT technologies and especially social media to contribute towards public deliberation
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Transformation of political institutions towards the direction of promoting, including and serving public deliberation
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Ways of embedding and including the result of public deliberation in democratic processes and governmental decision making
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Willingness of citizens and forms of their engagement in public dialogue
SUBMISSION PROCEDURE:
Researchers and practitioners are invited to submit papers for the special issue on E-Deliberation, Political Institutions, Online Political Networks and Public Engagements on or before May 1, 2013. All submissions must be original and may not be under review by another publication.
INTERESTED AUTHORS SHOULD CONSULT THE JOURNAL’S GUIDELINES FOR MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSIONS at
http://www.igi-global.com/Files/AuthorEditor/guidelinessubmission.pdf.
All submitted papers will be reviewed on a double-blind, peer review basis. Papers must follow APA style for reference citations. Please Indicate in the subject of the email ‘‘
For the special issue of IJEP”.
All submissions should be directed to the attention of:
Dr. Anastasia Deligiaouri
Guest Editor
International Journal of E-Politics
E-mail:
a.deligiaouri@kastoria.teikoz.gr
IMPORTANT DATES:
May 1, 2013: Paper submission
June 1, 2013: Review Results Returned to authors
August 15, 2013: Final decision from the editor for the selected papers.
October 1, 2013: Submission of all materials to the publisher
ABOUT International Journal of E-Politics:
The mission of the International Journal of E-Politics (IJEP) is to define and expand the boundaries of e-politics as an emerging area of inter-disciplinary research and practice by assisting in the development of e-politics theories and empirical models. The journal creates a venue for empirical, theoretical, and practical scholarly work on e-politics to be published, leading to sharing of ideas between practitioners and academics in this field. IJEP contributes to the creation of a community of e-politics researchers by serving as a “hub” for related activities, such as organizing seminars and conferences on e-politics and publication of books on e-politics.
This journal is an official publication of the
Information Resources Management Association
Editor-in-Chief: Celia Romm Livermore
Published: Quarterly (both in Print and Electronic form)
PUBLISHER:
The International Journal of E-Politics is published by IGI Global (formerly Idea Group Inc.), publisher of the “Information Science Reference” (formerly Idea Group Reference), “Medical Information Science Reference”, “Business Science Reference”, and “Engineering Science Reference” imprints. For additional information regarding the publisher, please visit www.igi-global.com.