CALL FOR PAPERS The Information Society (TIS) special issue on SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF PUBLIC POLICY IN THE INFORMATION AGE Edited by Milton Mueller (Syracuse University) and Becky Lentz (Ford Foundation) If the 1990s was the decade of market liberalization in media and telecommunication industries, what will the next decade be? What will define the agenda for communication and information policy in the next decade? Current policy discourse is focused on relatively narrow regulatory or legal issues, such as broadband regulation, the proper scope of intellectual property rights, interconnection and competition in telecommunications, and media concentration. While recognizing the importance of issue-specific policy research, this special issue would attempt to shift some attention to the underlying social determinants of public policy. The objective is to encourage the development of revised conceptions of the public interest appropriate to a transformed industrial and political environment. Interdisciplinary papers that bring together insights from political science, sociology, economics, and cultural studies are especially welcome. Ideally, papers would shed light on current developments and place them in perspective that has relevance for the future. As more specific examples of the type of papers/research we seek: * Analyses of long-term change in media and telecommunications institutions that draw upon any relevant literature of institutional change (e.g., the New Institutional Economics, the Old Institutional Economics, social movement theory, property rights economics, organizational repertoires and innovation). * Papers exploring changes in the way citizens, consumers, business groups or other constituencies are organizing to influence communication and information policy, including new analyses of how so-called global civil society or transnational advocacy networks are involved in communication and information issues. * Papers that assess the impact of globalization on communication and information policies, and explore the relationship between national policies, constituencies, and institutions on the one hand and international organizations and constituencies on the other. * How conceptions of the public interest in communication and information policy have changed in response to new technologies, new industry conditions and political and social developments. Are new theories of the public interest in communications and information policy being formed? * Explorations of the role of ideas and scholarly research in shaping, fomenting or resisting changes in policy. How are normative principles responding to the changing landscape? Manuscripts prepared according to the TIS guidelines should be submitted by October 1, 2003. Please send the manuscripts to: Milton Mueller <mueller@syr.edu>. Authors are encouraged to discuss their ideas with the guest editors.