Abstract
Deadline for Abstracts: 30 September 2016
Notification of acceptance: 30 November 2016
Deadline for submission of accepted papers: 28 February 2017
Review process: March-June 2017
Final version of accepted papers due: 30 September 2017
Publication of the special issue: June 2018
The debate over – and attempts to elaborate – a ‘constitution for the Internet’ have been developing in diverse contexts since the late 1990s. More recently, this issue has been addressed also by national parliaments all over the world, with relevant initiatives led in Brazil, the Philippines, Italy, New Zealand, France, Nigeria, amongst others. A need for innovative theoretical frameworks and research approaches to investigate these developments has emerged also in the light of new socio-technical trends, such as the rise of the Internet of Things, the building of Smart Cities, the exploitation of Big Data, the use of robots in patrolling and war, the deployment of Artificial Intelligence and Augmented Reality in the security field. Furthermore, reconsideration of the political and juridical implications of human rights protection in the digital context is called for by developments that are putting at risk fundamental rights and freedoms around the world – such as growing number of terrorist attacks, political radicalization and new forms of populism – and by the institutional responses at political, legal and technical levels.
This collection aims at exploring the issues, political processes, actors' strategies and networks involved in digital constitutionalism. Following Gill, Redeker and Gasser (2015) we adopt a preliminary definition of digital constitutionalism as “a constellation of initiatives that have sought to articulate a set of political rights, governance norms, and limitations on the exercise of power on the Internet”. The primary goal of this special issue is to better understand digital constitutionalism as a global political phenomenon, which is engendering a variety of efforts concerning the formalisation of digital communication rights and principles. The aim is to advance knowledge on crucial aspects of the development of Internet-related rights, taking into account, on the one hand, local/national experiences and their relationships with specific political, cultural and social contexts, and on the other, the global scenario to which they are projected. The more the Internet enters a symbiotic relation with human bodies and experiences, consolidating itself as an indispensable platform for individuals, communities and societies, the more digital constitutionalism emerges as a critical process which needs to be investigated.
The guest editors welcome proposals that are inter and trans-national in orientation, present new evidence or new theoretical approaches, reflect trans-disciplinary and different geo-cultural perspectives and connect the study of digital constitutionalism with questions concerning democracy, power, human rights and governance.
Possible topics for empirically-based research contributions are:
comparative analyses of charters and declarations, focusing on similarities and differences between human rights' agendas, deliberative approaches, and policy and regulation outputs developed by different actors in different times and places; in-depth analyses of single charters, declarations and documents, focusing on drafting processes, institutional framing, modalities of participation, and legal and political effects; exploration of different issues crossing multiple charters or relevant documents, including, but not limited to:
‐ the right to access; ‐ gender equality; ‐ anonymity; ‐ privacy and data protection; ‐ digital identities and citizenship; ‐ the right to be forgotten; ‐ network neutrality; ‐ cybersecurity.
Theoretical contributions addressing digital constitutionalism are also welcome; in particular proposals focused on the relationship between:
digital constitutions and liberal constitutionalism; digital constitutionalism and the multi-stakeholder Internet governance model; Internet constitutions and global constitutionalism; digital rights protection and national security policies; human rights and intellectual property rights in the Internet.
Extended abstracts (500/700 words, including author(s)’ name email and affiliation, article title, theoretical approach, working hypotheses and methodology) should be submitted via e-mail to the guest editors (
Notifications of acceptance will be sent to authors by 30 November 2016.
Full articles (max 7500/8000 words, including footnotes and references) are expected by 28 February 2017, and will undergo a double-blind peer-review process. Manuscripts should be typed throughout with double-spacing and should include a separate title page indicating: 1) the title of the manuscript; 2) the name(s), surname(s) and affiliation(s) of the author(s); 3) an abstract of 100-150 words; 4) contact details of the author(s): mailing address, fax and email number; 5) up to 10 keywords; and 6) a few lines of autobiographical information. Details on submissions will be made available to authors alongside notification of acceptance.
The special issue will include five articles and an editorial and will be published in June 2018 (International Communication Gazette 80:4)
International Communication Gazette is one of the world's leading peer-reviewed communication journals publishing scholarly articles from the international community of communication scholars. The journal covers all aspects of international communication including the structures and processes of international communication, the regulatory regimes in the field of international communication, the interaction between international and national flows of communication and the complexities of intercultural communication across national borders.