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Towards the Baltic Digital Bubble - the future of voting and governance: Monday, June 8 12-1pm EST
by Skaidra Puodziunas 05 Jun '20

05 Jun '20

If you are interested to learn about Baltic-grown case studies on e-governance and expert commentary on electoral preparation in times of Covid-19 and beyond - this is for you. Register below and see you online on Monday! https://www.eventbrite.fi/e/the-baltic-digital-bubble-post-covid-19-governa…

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CySoc Workshop on Cyber Social Threats @ICWSM 2020
by Ugur Kursuncu 04 Jun '20

04 Jun '20

Dear Colleagues, Please join us at the *Cyber Social Threats* workshop (CySoc 2020) on Monday, *June 8, 8:30 AM ET* @ICWSM2020 We have* two Keynotes* by Alexandra Olteanu <https://www.aolteanu.com/> from Microsoft Research <https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/theme/fate/> and Mikey Cohen <https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikey-cohen-4612a0/> from Network Contagion Institute <https://ncri.io/>. We have *eight interesting papers* accepted for presentation and ICWSM 2020 workshop proceedings. We will have two paper sessions and the first session will be dedicated to *Covid 19* papers. Lastly, we will have a *synthesis/brainstorming* session, that would result in paper concepts for impactful future research, for 20-minute discussion. This workshop will bring together researchers and practitioners in computer and social sciences from both academia and industry to exchange ideas on understanding the multi-faceted social, psychological, cultural, emotional, communicative, and linguistic aspects of harmful content while leading the discussion on building novel computational methods to reliably detect, derive meaning, interpret, understand and counter them. *For more information: http://CySoc.aiisc.ai <http://CySoc.aiisc.ai>* *Co-organizers:Ugur Kursuncu, AI Institute, University of South Carolina, SC, USA. Yelena Mejova, ISI Foundation, Turin, Italy. Jeremy Blackburn, State University of New York at Binghamton, NY, USA Amit Sheth, AI Institute, University of South Carolina, SC, USA.* --------------- *CySoc 2020 Program* 8.30 – 8.45 AM – Welcome to the workshop attendees. 8.45 – 9.45 AM – Keynote/Invited Talk: Alexandra Olteanu, Microsoft Research. "Challenges to Measuring Objectionable Behavior Online by Humans and Machines" 9.45 – 10.30 AM – COVID-19 Paper Session. Four papers will be presented with 12 minutes allocated for each, including Q/A. - Kai-Cheng Yang, Christopher Torres-Lugo and Filippo Menczer: “Prevalence of Low-Credibility Information on Twitter During the COVID-19 Outbreak” (paper 8) - Lynnette Ng and Jia Yuan Loke: ”Is this pofma? Analysing public opinion and misinformation in a COVID-19 Telegram group chat” (paper 2) - Gautam Kishore Shahi and Durgesh Nandini: “FakeCovid- A Multilingual Cross-domain Fact Check News Dataset for COVID-19” (paper 5) - Alexei Abrahams and Noura Aljizawi: “Middle Eastern Twitter bots and the covid-19 ‘infodemic’” (paper 9) 10.30 – 10.45 AM – Coffee break. 10.45 – 11.45 AM – Keynote/Invited Talk: Mikey Cohen, Director of Engineering at the Network Contagion Research Institute, former head of Edge Network Engineering at Netflix. “Promoted to Zero: Why I choose Fighting Hate Online over Netflix?” 11.45 AM – 12.30 PM – Paper Presentations. Four papers will be presented with 12 minutes allocated for each, including Q/A. - Kimberley R. Allison: "Navigating Negativity in Research: Methodological and Ethical Considerations in the Study of Antisocial, Subversive and Toxic Online Communities and Behaviours" (paper 1) - Emmi Bevensee, Maxwell Aliapoulios, Quinn Dougherty, Jason Baumgartner, Damon McCoy and Jeremy Blackburn: "SMAT: The Social Media Analysis Toolkit" (paper 11) - Taichi Murayama, Shoko Wakamiya and Eiji Aramaki: "Fake News Detection using Temporal Features Extracted via Point Process" (paper 3) - Chen Ling and Gianluca Stringhini: "Examining the Impact of Social Distance on the Reaction to a Tragedy: A Case Study on Sulli’s Death" (paper 7) 12.30 – 12.50 PM – Synthesis/Brainstorming exercise, resulting in paper concepts for impactful future research, 20-minute discussion session. 12.50 – 1.00 PM – Closing Remarks.

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WEBCAST TODAY: NCDE / FDIC ‘Digital Footprints’ webinar 2 – Ensuring Computer Access
by Joly MacFie 04 Jun '20

04 Jun '20

Just starting. This is the 2nd of five in the series, all about how to fund your USA community network with an accent on inclusion. The first can be found on the livestream link. FDIC still uses the archaic webex + phone system. ISOC Live posted: "On Thursday June 4 2020 at 11:00-12:00 EDT (15:00-16:00 UTC) the National Collaborative for Digital Equity (NCDE) in collaboration with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) hosts the second in its five part webinar series 'Community Reinvestme" [image: livestream] <https://livestream.com/internetsociety/ncde-fdic>On *Thursday June 4 2020* at *11:00-12:00 EDT* (15:00-16:00 UTC) the *National Collaborative for Digital Equity <https://www.digitalequity.us/>* (NCDE) in collaboration with the *Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation <https://www.fdic.gov/> *(FDIC) hosts the second in its five part webinar series '*Community Reinvestment Act, Digital Equity and Systemic Inclusion* <http://www.digitalequity.us/fdic-webinars.html>'. This week's topic is '*Equipping Low-and-Moderate Income (LMI) Youth for the New Normal - Ensuring Computer Access*'. Today’s learning environment now requires home computers. However, many low-and-moderate income (LMI) youths find themselves at a digital device disadvantage. Join us as we highlight innovative solutions that provide access to refurbished and new laptops, explore the donation process to LMI individuals and families (e.g., positive Community Reinvestment Act implications) and discuss approaches to bring the idea to scale. *SPEAKERS* - *Lisa Trisciani*, Vice President, Connection Public Sector Solutions - *Sarah Segrest*, Director of Business Development, The Douglas Stewart Company - *Ulrike Smith*, CRA Compliance Officer, Franklin Savings Bank - *Dr. Robert McLaughlin*, Executive Director, National Collaborative for Digital Equity *MODERATOR* - *Terry Lee*, Community Affairs Specialist, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation *LIVESTREAM* *https://livestream.com/internetsociety/ncde-fdic <https://livestream.com/internetsociety/ncde-fdic>* *PARTICIPATE http://ow.ly/nu3N50zStuG <http://ow.ly/nu3N50zStuG>* *TWITTER: @NCDEus + @FDICgov <https://bit.ly/2X9h0Zj>* *Permalink* https://isoc.live/12168/ - -- -------------------------------------- Joly MacFie +2185659365 -------------------------------------- -

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WEBCAST TODAY: Designing a participatory design workshop w/ Indira Knight @A11yVR @AllySIG #gameChangeVR @HHCDesign @RCA
by Joly MacFie 04 Jun '20

04 Jun '20

You may have heard the phrase "nothing about us, without us". Today's presenter walks the talk. ISOC Live posted: "On Thursday June 4 2020 at 8pm JST (11:00 UTC) the Accessibility VR Meetup hosts 'Designing a participatory design workshop' on Mozilla Hubs. When working on the design of gameChange, a VR program to help people with psychosis presenter Indira Knight, a h" [image: livestream] <https://livestream.com/internetsociety/a11yvr3>On *Thursday June 4 2020* at *8pm JST* (11:00 UTC) the *Accessibility VR Meetup <https://www.meetup.com/a11yvr/>* hosts '*Designing a participatory design workshop <https://www.meetup.com/a11yvr/events/270720060/>*' on Mozilla Hubs. When working on the design of gameChange <https://gamechangevr.com/>, a VR program to help people with psychosis presenter *Indira Knight*, a healthcare researcher at the *Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design <https://www.rca.ac.uk/research-innovation/research-centres/helen-hamlyn-cen…>* at the Royal College of Art, developed a series of participatory design workshops to include people with lived experience of psychosis in the design process. In this workshop she will talk about some of the decisions that were made when designing the workshops, the development of the workshop materials and how they were run. The session will be webcast live via a partnership with the *Internet Society Accessibility SIG <https://a11ysig.org>* (A11ySIG). *LIVESTREAM: https://livestream.com/internetsociety/a11yvr3 <https://livestream.com/internetsociety/a11yvr3>* *YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/IYL_cK19ad8 <https://youtu.be/IYL_cK19ad8>* *PARTICIPATE: https://hubs.mozilla.com/G6edX79/a11yvr-project/ <https://hubs.mozilla.com/G6edX79/a11yvr-project/>* *REAL TIME TEXT: https://www.streamtext.net/player?event=a11yvr <https://www.streamtext.net/player?event=a11yvr>* *TWITTER: @a11yvr <http://bit.ly/A11yVR> #gameChangeVR* *Permalink* https://isoc.live/12158/ -- -------------------------------------- Joly MacFie +2185659365 -------------------------------------- -

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Journal of Peer Production #14 'Infrastructuring the Commons Today, when STS meet ICT'
by Mathieu.O'Neil 04 Jun '20

04 Jun '20

<final apology for multiple posts!> The Journal of Peer Production would like to announce the publication of Special Issue #14 'Infrastructuring the Commons Today, when STS meet ICT' Guest editors: Mariacristina Sciannamblo (Sapienza University of Rome), Maurizio Teli (Aalborg University), Peter Lyle (Aarhus University) & Christopher Csíkszentmihályi (Madeira Interactive Technologies Institute) Peer production and collaborative forms of technological design – such as those based on commons-oriented approaches – have at their core a critical stance towards the technoscientific landscape, an approach shared with Science and Technology Studies (STS) as a theoretical archipelago that has produced a significant wealth of knowledge that points out the social constructive and performative character of technoscience. In recent time, the increasing prominence of critical approaches - e.g. feminist and postcolonial STS - and the intersections with surrounding fields - e.g. participatory design, information science, and critical technical practice - have stressed the politically engaged character of STS, emphasizing its "activist interest" (Sismondo, 2008). Such growing interest in collaborative modes of practicing STS has suggested the emergence of a "collaborative turn" in STS (Farías, 2017). Such novel approaches allow researchers and practitioners to understand and experience STS as a “practice” as well as a theoretical perspective, an approach that can be fruitful and inspiring also to investigate, design, and advocate for commons-based and oriented forms of production and experiences. This special issue focuses on such collaborative orientation of STS by exploring its interplay with the field of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) when focusing on the commons and peer production. With the question of infrastructuring the commons as a background, the issue evokes the disciplinary intersection of STS with design studies and information science; the epistemological meeting between STS and critical perspectives; the making of new alliances between researchers, activists and local populations; the convergence of institutional interests and research practices to promote alternative sociotechnical infrastructures. The issue is open access and available at this link: http://peerproduction.net/issues/issue-14-infrastructuring-the-commons-toda… ================================================

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CfP special issue 'Algorithmic Governance in Context' (New Media & Society)
by Mariëlle W. 03 Jun '20

03 Jun '20

*CfP: ‘Algorithmic Governance in Context’* Special issue of *New Media & Society* Special issue editors: Daria Gritsenko (University of Helsinki), Annette Markham (RMIT), Holger Pötzsch (UiT – The Arctic University of Norway) and Mariëlle Wijermars (Maastricht University) We invite paper proposals for a special issue in the journal *New Media & Society* that will interrogate the functions and effects of algorithms in contemporary governance. Contributing to the current academic debate, the special issue seeks to conceptualize the notion of context in algorithmic governance by, first, perceiving of algorithmic governance as an activity taking place in a variety of contexts and aiming at investigating these contexts in a systematic manner. Second, by focusing not only on how algorithms are used as tools for governance, but also on how such tools can be governed – controlled and held to account – and what challenges such forms of governance imply. The use of algorithms in society can imply a moving of contestable issues from negotiable to non-negotiable spaces, thereby reducing agency and influence of human actors. Active recontextualizations can become an important tool to problematize such and other consequences of algorithmic governance and reveal possible unintended implications and effects. The special issue builds upon a series of workshops (2019-2020) facilitated by a networking grant from *The Joint Committee for Nordic Research Councils in the Humanities and Social Sciences* (NOS-HS) coordinated at the University of Helsinki, that focused on the multiplicity of contexts in which algorithmic systems operate. Drawing upon the conceptual work conducted during the workshops, the special issue focuses on two key themes: multiplying the contexts of algorithmic governance and governing algorithms in context. *Multiplying the contexts of algorithmic governance* Articles are invited that explore how specific conditions impact upon the efficacy and perceived legitimacy of algorithms as tools for governance. In particular, contributions may direct attention to the manifold everyday practices through which algorithmic governance is effectuated and investigate the legal, political, cultural, economic, and technological frames that predispose and tacitly guide these. Through this focus, it becomes clear that algorithmic governance is not only a deeply contextual activity, but also an activity carried out within the frames of a multiplicity of different and often competing context*s*. Identifying exactly which contexts matter when, in which ways, and to whom becomes an important task for the planning of algorithmic forms of governance in and through autonomous machine learning systems. At the same time, active recontextualization enables problematizing and resisting algorithmic governance in cases where it is perceived as illegitimate or biased. *Governing algorithms in context* Articles are invited that focus on the fact that algorithms at once govern, and are themselves governed by, either human or non-human agents. The increased use of algorithms in all areas of life makes the question of how to understand and sufficiently control such governing algorithms a timely and salient area of critical inquiry. Issues such as the complexity and opacity of algorithmic assessment and feedback systems as well as their growing autonomy and pervasiveness are important areas of research dedicated to improving the governance of algorithms. Articles could, for example, aim at facilitating new technical solutions, at raising public awareness, at informing practices of decision-makers and funding bodies, as well as at critically assessing cultural and other responses to the governance of algorithms. We welcome both disciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives and studies employing various social scientific methods, including comparative case-studies, ethnography, socio-legal studies, design studies, and historical inquiry. We particularly encourage studies that challenge the status quo, either through innovative (mixed method) methodologies or critical reflections on the state of the art. Papers could address, but are not limited to, the following questions: · What are the different ‘realities’ constructed by the use of algorithms in governance? How do they play out across time and space? · How do individuals – in private or organisational contexts – make sense of and respond to algorithmic governance? · What are the similarities and differences in the deployment of algorithmic governance within public and private sectors? · What are the challenges of developing effective strategies for governing algorithms at the intersection of law and technology? · How can different publics be made aware of ‘algorithmic bads’, while still benefiting from ‘algorithmic goods’? In sum, papers can either systematically tackle the contexts of algorithmic governance or investigate the governance of algorithms, identifying challenges that emerge in different governance contexts. *Guest editors:* Daria Gritsenko, Assistant Professor in Russian Big Data Methodology, University of Helsinki. daria.gritsenko(a)helsinki.fi Annette Markham, Professor of Media & Communication, Digital Ethnography Research Centre, RMIT, Melbourne. amarkham(a)gmail.com Holger Pötzsch, Professor of Media- and Documentation Studies, UiT – The Arctic University of Norway. holger.potzsch(a)uit.no Mariëlle Wijermars, Assistant Professor in Cyber-Security and Politics, Maastricht University. m.wijermars(a)maastrichtuniversity.nl *Timeline:* · Extended abstract submission deadline: 30 June. Please submit here: https://elomake.helsinki.fi/lomakkeet/105716/lomake.html · Invitation to submit full draft: 15 July · Deadline for full papers: 31 October *Submission guidelines:* Proposals of 750-1000 words should comprise an abstract and a short description explaining how the proposed paper relates to the special issue theme. Please submit your proposal through the submission form no later than June 30, 2020. Invited paper submissions will be due 31 October 2020 and will undergo peer review following the usual procedures of *New Media & Society*. Approximately 10-12 papers will be sent out for full review. Therefore, the invitation to submit a full article does not guarantee acceptance into the special issue. The special issue is scheduled for publication in early 2022, with online first publication expected from mid-2021 onwards. *D**r **Mariëlle** Wijermars* *Assistant Professor in Cyber-Security and Politics Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASoS) *m.wijermars(a)maastrichtuniversity.nl <m.wijermars(a)maastrichtuniversity.nl%20> www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/p70066306 <http://www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/> Visiting address: Grote Gracht 86, Maastricht, room 2.002 P.O. Box 616, 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands Recent publications: Gritsenko, D., M. Wijermars and M. Kopotev (Eds). In press. *The Palgrave Handbook of Digital Russia Studies*. Palgrave Macmillan. Wijermars, M., and K. Lehtisaari (Eds). 2020. *Freedom of Expression in Russia’s New Mediasphere.* Routledge.

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Seminar Tomorrow on Media Policy in a Time of Crisis
by Eleanor Marchant 02 Jun '20

02 Jun '20

Here at the Programme in Comparative Media Law & Policy at Oxford we'll be hosting the wonderful Victor Pickard tomorrow to talk about the very relevant subject of Media Policy in a Time of Crisis. 16:30 British Summer Time, Wednesday June 3, 2020 Abstract: News media industries—particularly newspapers—are facing an existential threat. Dramatic shifts in digital economics, especially the collapse of commercial journalism’s advertising revenue, have devastated local journalism in recent years. The pandemic has accelerated this structural crisis and democratic societies across the globe are scrambling to save journalism before it is too late. My talk will draw from my recent book Democracy without Journalism? to discuss potential policy interventions to not only salvage–but also reinvent–our news media system. Ultimately this crisis is an opportunity to reimagine what journalism could and should be. Follow this link for more information about the talk, the seminar series as a whole, and details about how to join the live discussion: https://pcmlp.socleg.ox.ac.uk/global-media-policy-seminar-series-victor-pic…<https://socleg.us19.list-manage.com/track/click?u=871c2ede03be24ba1090db0e2…> Take care everyone! Eleanor ELEANOR R MARCHANT PHD ConflictNET<https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/research-and-subject-groups/politics-and-practice-…> Postdoctoral Fellow Programme in Comparative Media Law & Policy Centre for Socio-Legal Studies University of Oxford Tw: @ermarchant<https://twitter.com/ermarchant> | www.eleanormarchant.me<http://www.eleanormarchant.me>

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COVID-19 seminar #7: "Seeing Indigenous Land Struggles in COVID-19, " Dr Will Smith, Dr Noah Theriault, Dr June Rubis
by Thao Phan 02 Jun '20

02 Jun '20

*COVID-19 seminar #7: Dr Will Smith, Dr Noah Theriault, Dr June Rubis* https://smiththeriaultrubis-seminar.eventbrite.com.au <https://smiththeriaultrubis-seminar.eventbrite.com.au> Please join us for the FINAL seminar in the COVID-19 seminar series, co-hosted by the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship & Globalisation <https://www.deakin.edu.au/adi> (ADI) and the Science and Society Network <https://scienceandsocietynetwork.deakin.edu.au/> (SSN). *Title:*Seeing Indigenous Land Struggles in COVID-19 *Abstract:*Popular and academic commentary on the multispecies assemblage of COVID-19 has focused extensively on its nebulous animal origins. Bats, civets, snakes, pangolins, and birds have all found themselves implicated as possible hosts for the novel virus. A multispecies exploration of COVID-19 appropriately highlights the profitable and violent commodity chains that connect mass consumption of wild animals to global ‘biodiversity hotspots.’ Yet, perversely, this move has also worked to erase reference to the peoples who actually coexist with these lifeforms. In this talk, we examine what is rendered invisible when ‘exotic’ animal origins are fetishized. Throughout Southeast Asia, the ancestral territories of indigenous peoples are the ultimate source of wildlife destined for consumption throughout the region. Drawing on examples from the Philippines and Malaysia, we explore how indigenous struggles for land and livelihood are central, not marginal, to understanding the emergence of a zoonotic pathogen like SARS-CoV-2. *About the speakers:* Will Smith is an Associate Research Fellow at the Alfred Deakin Institute at Deakin University. He is an anthropologist and human geographer whose research critically explores environmental governance, indigenous livelihoods and climate change in the Philippines. He is the author of Mountains of Blame: Climate and Culpability in the Philippine Uplands (University of Washington Press, 2020). Noah Theriault, Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Carnegie Mellon University, studies how global-scale forces shape the lives of rural and urban communities in the Philippines, with particular attention to the everyday practices through which those forces are enacted, contested, and potentially transformed. This includes a long-term study of indigeneity and biodiversity conservation in Palawan and more recently a political ecology of infrastructure in Manila. As a former conservation biologist, June Rubis, Postdoctoral Fellow at University of Sydney, has about twelve years experience with wildlife conservation fieldwork in both Indonesian and Malaysian Borneo. She also has work experience on Indigenous land rights issues, working alongside with local activists in Malaysian Borneo (Sarawak and Sabah), on campaigns to resist mega-dam development in Borneo. She also studies decolonial Indigenous approaches to biodiversity conservation in Sarawak. Much of her approach to her work follows along the teachings of her late Bidayuh father. She holds both an MSc in Environmental Change and Management and a DPhil (PhD) in Geography & Environment, from the University of Oxford. *Watch the seminar:* Seminar will be available to stream on YouTube live. Access using the live link: <https://youtu.be/eJsN8Ym85y4>https://youtu.be/AD29NDsvwkc Date/time: Tuesday 9th June, 10am - 11:30am (Australian Eastern Standard Time, GMT+10) Q&A with the speaker to follow. To send questions/participate in the chat, you'll need to sign-in using a YouTube account <https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-comment-on-youtube?r=AU&IR=T>. If you have any questions, please send to ssn-info(a)deakin.edu.au The talk will also be recorded and available on the SSN Youtube Channel <https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVYFQV_UFX9CLreqpNzanVA>. Did you miss our last seminar? Watch it here! <https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtH1AbnJ7AFApbhh29fL5kqjNFdD_0eID>

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senior and postdoc fellowships in global internet governance
by Jan Aart Scholte 01 Jun '20

01 Jun '20

Call for Research Fellowship Applications 2021/2022 (Global Internet Governance) Postdoctoral and Senior Researchers The Käte Hamburger Kolleg/Centre for Global Cooperation Research (KHK/GCR21) invites applications for Research Fellowships with duration of 12 months starting between February and September 2021. Proposals are especially welcome regarding: (1) critique, justification and legitimacy in global cooperation; and (2) global cooperation and competing conceptions of world order. The fully funded fellowships are available to both senior and postdoctoral researchers across the humanities and social sciences. Prioritized global policy fields include climate, Internet, migration, peacebuilding. Deadline for applications is 1st June 2020. We are aware that this call comes at a time of high uncertainty around COVID-19. We are monitoring closely the evolving situation and hope that circumstances will allow the advertised fellowships to start as planned from February 2021 onwards. We therefore urge you to apply if you are interested but still uncertain about the practicability of the fellowship! The KHK/GCR21 The Centre for Global Cooperation Research at the University of Duisburg-Essen is one of ten Käte Hamburger Kollegs sponsored by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. Established in 2012, the Centre is an interdisciplinary and international learning community that seeks to enhance understanding of the possibilities and limits of global cooperation and to explore new options for global public policy. The working language at the Centre is English. In its second funding period (2018-2023), the Centre’s research and fellowships are organized around four broad themes: pathways and mechanisms of global cooperation; global cooperation and polycentric governance; critique, justification and legitimacy in global cooperation; and global cooperation and competing conceptions of world order. Empirical research on these themes focuses especially on the governance of climate change, the internet, migration, and peacebuilding. The Centre will issue thematic calls for application on an annual basis. Fellowships 2021-2022 For next year we invite fellowship applications from across the humanities and social sciences (including also psychology, law and economics) in relation to the second two main themes, as detailed below. We particularly encourage female researchers and scholars from the Global South to apply. Applications from scholars at risk are welcome. Benefits to Fellows * An intellectually stimulating and vibrant interdisciplinary learning community * Excellent infrastructure with fully equipped offices, library facilities, and administrative support (also with finding accommodation) * Funds to organize workshops (subject to approval, with preference especially to workshops that emerge from an interdisciplinary exchange with other researchers at the Centre) * Either a monthly stipend commensurate with experience or financing of a teaching replacement at the home institution Expectations from Fellows * A completed PhD * Personal research and publication in the Centre’s thematic areas * A contribution to the Centre’s own publications * Regular active participation in seminars and other Centre events * Collaboration with other fellows in interdisciplinary exchange * Work in residence at the Centre in Duisburg, Germany Themes 2021-2022 The Centre’s work in the period of 2021-2022 will focus on the themes ‘Critique, Justification and Legitimacy in Global Cooperation’ and ‘Global Cooperation and Competing Conceptions of World Order’, as described further below. We especially invite fellowship applications that address these themes. In addition, preference will be given to applications with an empirical focus on the governance of climate change, the internet, migration, and peacebuilding. How to Apply Applications (in English only) should include: * cover letter * concise research proposal (3-5 pages) * CV * list of publications * text of one relevant publication Please submit applications at http://www.gcr21.org/en/fellows/how-to-become-a-fellow/fellowships/. Deadline for receipt of applications is 1st June 2020. Please indicate in the cover letter your preferred start and end date of the fellowship. If you have any questions, please contact Matthias Schuler at <schuler(a)gcr21.uni-due.de>. Critique, Justification and Legitimacy in Global Cooperation Legitimacy – and its contestation – is a vital question for global cooperation. Legitimacy refers to the belief and perception that a governing force has rightful authority and exercises it appropriately. Legitimacy can be both normative (i.e. determined by moral judgement) and sociological (i.e. observed in political behaviour). Scholarship from various disciplines has usually examined legitimacy in relation to the state, but more recent scholarship understands legitimacy as a fragile, politicized, and contested phenomenon that involves a wider range of political forces, including multilateral institutions, private global governance, and transnational social movements. This processual notion of legitimacy – the interplay between critique and justification – leads to many conceptual, theoretical, and methodological challenges. It implies considering politicization processes and power relations across scales (at local, national and transnational levels), a broad spectrum of political actors in their complex relationships, and new forms of resistance against formal authorities (e.g. by whistleblowers, young climate activists, right-wing networks). Sites of resistance include – but are not limited to – civil society associations, social movements, and everyday practices of ordinary citizens. De-legitimation can come from ‘left-wing’ and ‘right-wing’ angles, from communitarians as well as cosmopolitans. If legitimacy is also created by civil society actors, new protest movements, and ‘ordinary citizens’, research questions emerge on how to conceptualize and study contested ‘legitimation work’ (Raymond Geuss) around multiple sites of global cooperation. We welcome projects that help us gain a better understanding of global cooperation and ‘politics of (de)legitimation’. Proposals are welcomed across a range of issue-areas, especially – though not limited to – climate change, Internet, migration, and peacebuilding. Questions for this research stream may include, though are not limited to:  Who are the protagonists who cooperate in legitimation and de-legitimation (or resistance) struggles (e.g. civil society organizations, social movements, indigenous groups)? How and why do these struggles emerge and develop? How does the global rise of populism play into such practices of cooperation?  What forms of trans-scalar cooperation can we distinguish in politics of (de-)legitimation (e.g. shared textual and visual narratives, performances, academic schools of thought)? For example, do young climate activists cooperate differently than right-wing networks?  How can we best study new protagonists and complex new forms of resistance against formal authorities, for instance as exercised/practiced by whistleblowers, feminist activists, artists, sportspeople and critical comedians?  How do certain concerns gain legitimacy as a “global” problem in need of “cooperation” (e.g. peace, climate change)? Global Cooperation and Competing Conceptions of World Order The broad question concerning competing conceptions of world order is a very traditional issue of global politics, which has operated on the basis of both systemic assumptions and more actor-focused concepts. Yet, under current polycentric conditions, these issues have taken many different forms and can be studied from a variety of perspectives, particularly with regard to their impact on global cooperation. Research projects in this stream are invited to explore the commonalities and differences between various conceptions of world order, as well as relationships between them in practices of global cooperation and non-cooperation. We welcome projects that help us to gain a better understanding of how different and often contested conceptions of world order shape, change or obstruct global cooperation. This includes abstract considerations about epistemological and anthropological foundations of world-order conceptions, as well as a focus on material conditions and repercussions. Also welcome are proposals that deepen understanding of populism and anti-global protest, the fight for global equality or the self-legitimation of organizations. Themes we are particularly interested in for the coming fellowship period include: How can we understand geopolitics (i.e. the strategic struggle for spheres of influence), beyond its form as classic theme of international politics? Can it result in new constellations of global cooperation? Or will we see a return of interstate conflict that seemed to have become obsolete? We invite research on perceptions, narratives and discourses to explore grand geopolitical/economic schemes in their conception in different regions or circles and also address new conflicting/cooperative areas. Can conceptions of world order based on the unity of humankind be imagined without relying on essentialist and simplifying anthropologies; and what are the implications of such ‘new cosmopolitanisms’ for global cooperation? What can be expected of approaches which substitute the focus on human rationality with the emphasis on other human capacities, such as empathy or awareness of common vulnerability? What is the role of different conceptions of time and historical directionality? How have conflicts between largely irreconcilable conceptions of world orders (and political agendas) impacted on global cooperation? For instance, while economic growth is seen as instrumental for improving the lives of people particularly in the Global South, a contrary position would hold that sustainable human life is only possible under conditions of reduced growth and consumption, respect for nature, clean energies etc. Can such guiding principles or even ideologies also pave the way for new ways in global cooperation, such as new alliances and forms or will these competing views generate future conflicts?

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JoAnne Yates on her new book
by Ilana Gershon 01 Jun '20

01 Jun '20

Dear Colleagues, Michael Prentice interviews JoAnne Yates about her new book with Craig Murphy, Engineering Rules: Global Standard Setting Since 1880 -- the history of the organizations that set voluntary standards. Please check it out: https://campanthropology.org Best, Ilana

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