Drawing on the successful  stream at the European Conference on Social Media 2014:

International Journal of Electronic Governance (IJEG)

http://www.inderscience.com/ijeg

Special Issue on

Challenging Government: e-Participation and the social web

Guest Editors

Dr. Darren P. Mundy

Senior Lecturer in Digital Media, Interim Head of Department , School of Arts and New Media, University of Hull, United Kingdom

email d.mundy@hull.ac.uk

Dr. Tobias Bevc

Lecturer, Chair Political Science/Political Theory, Faculty of Philosophy and Social Sciences, University of Augsburg, Germany

email tobiasbevc@politische-theorie.eu

Description

Social media platforms are lowering the boundaries to access and participation in conversation linked to governmental services. Participation is being facilitated in numerous ways, for instance: through national and local government adopting social media channels for citizen communication; community groups using social media as platforms to engender community action; and citizen-citizen communication around the problems in their local region. In addition, there is a perception that this development can help to enhance the prospects for existing democracies to include their citizens in the political process.

However, at the same time a brief look at the public sphere in democratic states will show an ambivalent impact of social media on the public sphere. Here the keywords surveillance, sousveillance, coveillance, digital divide and censorship are essential to sketch the field of discussion. The question is whether e-Participation through social media really enhances participation of the people or does it privilege those which are already participating, regardless of the technical possibilities.

This special issue encourages discussion of the range of different ways in which e-Participation through social media is occurring, including what it is facilitating? In addition it will help in determining potential future research directions in this area of interest and enable discussion of the impact of social media on the public sphere and its consequences for democracy and its practises.

Subject Coverage

Topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Social Media and Democracy

• Social Media and Participation

• Social Media and the Public Sphere

• Future Chances of Social Media and e-Participation

• Risks of e-Participation

Notes for Prospective Authors

Submitted papers should not have been previously published nor be currently under consideration for publication elsewhere. (N.B. Conference papers may only be submitted if the paper has been completely re-written and if appropriate written permissions have been obtained from any copyright holders of the original paper).

All papers are refereed through a peer review process. 

All papers must be submitted online. Please read our information on preparing and submitting articles (http://www.inderscience.com/info/inauthors/author_submit.php).

Important Dates

• submission of manuscripts: 31 January 2015 (extended deadline)

• interim notification to authors: 31 March 2015

• revised versions due: 30 April 2015

• final notification to authors: 31 May 2015

• final camera-ready versions due: 15 June 2015

This special issue is scheduled for publication in 2015.