ICA Pre-conference: Sovereignty and the Return of Governance for Digital Platforms (online) Organised by: the SAGE journal Global Media and China, the University of Sydney Endorsed by the Following ICA Divisions: Communications Law & Policy; Global Communications & Social Change Invited participants: Jiang Fei (Beijing Foreign Studies University, China); Terry Flew (The University of Sydney, Australia); Anthony Fung (Chinese University of Hong Kong); Shin Dong Kim (Hallym University, South Korea); Philip Schlesinger (University of Glasgow); Daya Kishan Thussu (Hong Kong Baptist University). Overview In an era that has been termed one of post-globalization (Flew, 2018), there is considerable debate around governance of the global Internet. In particular, multistakeholder approaches which seek to bypass nation-state governments in the name of global "netizens" have been critiqued as lacking real regulatory capacity to transform the behaviour of digital platforms towards public interest goals. This one-day symposium will explore questions of sovereignty in the digital environment from international and comparative perspectives. We are particularly interested in papers which address: ·The ‘regulatory turn’ towards digital platforms and comparative insights. ·How digital platforms with an international footprint navigate competing jurisdictional rules and regulations; ·The rise of “tech nationalism” and the promotion of digital “national champions”; ·New forms of regulation being developed by national governments and the European Union; ·The role of quasi-self-regulatory entities developed by companies themselves (e.g. Facebook Oversight Board); ·Proposals for reform of international internet governance institutions; ·The relationship between global digital platforms and questions of sovereignty and accountable governance; ·The impact of COVID-19 on digital platform governance. Submission and Selection Process Authors should submit an extended abstract of 300-500 words to: crem-ica-preconference-2022-metz-contact@univ-lorraine.fr <mailto:crem-ica-preconference-2022-metz-contact@univ-lorraine.fr> by January 31, 2022. The extended abstracts should include the main idea/argument, research questions, a short literature review and/or theoretical perspectives, information on methodology and empirical findings (if relevant). We welcome different approaches, including discussions of literature, concepts and theories, historical perspectives, and empirical analyses. The extended abstracts will go through a double-blind peer review process. All submitted abstracts must be anonymous with no reference to author(s). Include name, affiliation and contact details either in the email or in a separate attachment. Dr HAN Xiao Research Associate, State Key Lab of Media Convergence and Communication, Communication University of China (CUC) Commissioning Editor, Global Media and China http://journals.sagepub.com/home/gch <http://gch.sagepub.com/>