[Asis-l] Call for Papers (TIS)

[C. Courtright]

Forwarded by request of the editor:

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 at syr.edu>.  Authors are encouraged to discuss their ideas with 
the guest editors.