Politics and Governance

Politics and Governance is an internationally peer-reviewed open access journal that publishes significant and cutting-edge research drawn from all areas of political science.

Volume 11, Issue 2

Title: Hate Speech, Demonization, Polarization, and Political Social Responsibility

Editor(s): Luis M. Romero-Rodríguez (Rey Juan Carlos University), Pedro Cuesta-Valiño (University of Alcala) and Bárbara Castillo-Abdul (Rey Juan Carlos University)

Submission of Abstracts: 1-15 June 2022
Submission of Full Papers: 15-30 October 2022
Publication of the Issue: April-June 2023

Information:

Discursive violence has often played a determining role in the formation of nations and is explained by history in terms of its causal relationships, as a function in instrumental terms, so that the term “violence” is assumed in the collective as a practical tool-even more so with the rise of neo-populisms-used by social actors in opposition to relations of domination.

As one of the tools of societal violence, hate speech refers in general to all forms of discourse that deteriorate the image of a person or a group of individuals because of their inherent or acquired status. This includes explicit hate messages, as well as more subtle narratives by which the image of groups is disparaged to demonize them, exercising social control and creating political polarization, establishing a “symbolic struggle” between the notion of “us” vs. “otherness.”

As the capacity for social and political negotiation between the State and the various sectors of society has diminished, the regimes have paradoxically imposed, on their initiative, measures of coercion, violence, and formal and informal social control to maintain “democratic order” and justify the legitimacy of a government and its institutions. Thus, violence appears in contrast with political organizations of weak institutionalism, in the face of threats of the irruption of recognition of authority and, consequently, delegitimization of orders and disobedience.

In this thematic issue, we seek to explore, from empirical approaches, hate speech, the demonization of otherness, political polarization, and the social responsibility of political institutions, especially in the context of the rise of populism and the effect of social networks. We invite original articles that systematically explore the above questions. We encourage the submission of studies that survey the field, studies employing qualitative and quantitative methodologies, and research that seeks to make a constructive contribution to understanding present challenges and future opportunities.

Instructions for Authors: Authors interested in submitting a paper for this issue are asked to consult the journal's instructions for authors and submit their abstracts (maximum of 250 words, with a tentative title) through the abstracts system (here). When submitting their abstracts, authors are also asked to confirm that they are aware that Politics and Governance is an open-access journal with a publishing fee if the article is accepted for publication after peer-review (corresponding authors affiliated with our institutional members do not incur this fee).

Open Access: The journal has an article publication fee to cover its costs and guarantee that the article can be accessed free of charge by any reader, anywhere in the world, regardless of affiliation. We defend that authors should not have to personally pay this fee and advise them to check with their institutions if funds are available to cover open access publication fees. Institutions can also join Cogitatio's Membership Program at a very affordable rate and enable all affiliated authors to publish without incurring any fees. Further information about the journal's open access charges and institutional members can be found here.

Volume 11, Issue 2

Title: The European Union and International Regime Complexes

Editor(s): Tom Delreux (University of Louvain, Belgium) and Joseph Earsom (University of Louvain, Belgium)

Submission of Abstracts: 1-15 June 2022
Submission of Full Papers: 15-30 October 2022
Publication of the Issue: April-June 2023

Information:

The international governance of many issue areas no longer takes place in single fora (international organizations, treaty frameworks, ‘clubs’) but rather across a multitude of partly-overlapping fora handling (aspects of) the same issue area. The entirety of these fora is referred to as an international regime complex. Such complexes have become a ubiquitous part of the multilateral landscape and pose significant challenges and opportunities for international actors such as the European Union.

The aim of this thematic issue is to advance our understanding of the European Union as an actor in international regime complexes. While there is a rich literature on the EU’s role in single international fora, our insights as to how the EU acts in the entirety of a given regime complex are still limited. And while the literature on international regime complexes usually takes the regime complex as unit of analysis, it has paid less attention to actor behaviour within the complex.

A wide range of questions is on the table, both regarding the EU’s role in specific regime complexes and regarding international regime complexity more generally: Is the EU an active shaper of regime complexes? To what extent does the EU take into account an entire regime complex in its external action or is the EU focused on single fora? What is the effect of the multitude of international fora dealing with (aspects of) the same issue area on the performance of the EU and the effectiveness of its external action? The thematic issue will bring together scholars of both the EU as an actor in international institutions and international regime complexes in order to offer a better perspective on the EU’s role in international regime complexes in various issue areas (including, but not limited to, environment, energy, development, health, human rights, trade, security).

Instructions for Authors: Authors interested in submitting a paper for this issue are asked to consult the journal's instructions for authors and submit their abstracts (maximum of 250 words, with a tentative title) through the abstracts system (here). When submitting their abstracts, authors are also asked to confirm that they are aware that Politics and Governance is an open-access journal with a publishing fee if the article is accepted for publication after peer-review (corresponding authors affiliated with our institutional members do not incur this fee).

Open Access: The journal has an article publication fee to cover its costs and guarantee that the article can be accessed free of charge by any reader, anywhere in the world, regardless of affiliation. We defend that authors should not have to personally pay this fee and advise them to check with their institutions if funds are available to cover open access publication fees. Institutions can also join Cogitatio's Membership Program at a very affordable rate and enable all affiliated authors to publish without incurring any fees. Further information about the journal's open access charges and institutional members can be found here.

Volume 11, Issue 2

Title: Local Self-Governance and Weak Statehood: A Convincing Liaison?

Editor(s): Antje Daniel (University of Vienna, Austria), Hans-Joachim Lauth (Würzburg University, Germany) and Eberhard Rothfuß (University of Bayreuth, Germany)

Submission of Abstracts: 1-15 June 2022
Submission of Full Papers: 15-30 October 2022
Publication of the Issue: April/June 2023

Information:

This thematic issue addresses the relationship between local self-governance and the state. Self-regulation is not understood as political organization at the municipal level, but rather as the rules that emerge in the social context. Local self-regulations of individual local groups or communities and their arrangements with other groups at the local level are to be considered. On this basis, the interactions and relations with state authorities will be analyzed.

In the various contributions based on a specific social science approach or preferring an interdisciplinary approach, we expect the analysis of different contexts and world regions. However, we assume that despite looking at the different constellations, common patterns emerge. This assumption underlies the thematic issue. Ultimately, an answer to the question of convincing liaison could lie in specifying its conditions.

All contributions should be based upon empirical research. They should explain the kind of methods and theories which are used; the definition of concepts like state, weak statehood, local self-governance, civil society or social capital or other concepts which contribute to an in-depth understanding of self-regulation. We suggest three key questions:

1) Which areas of community life are covered by collective rules that are given or upheld by this community? Which social norms, values or moralities do the regulations contain? What patterns of local self-governance can be identified?

2) What mechanisms of local community building can be observed? How are groups organized, and how does the internal decision-making work? What can we say about the collective identity and the legitimization of the groups?

3) What are the relations to the state? Are they mutually supportive and complementary, or are they in conflict? What form and styles of governance can be identified? How does the relationship between self-regulated groups and the state change the perception of weak statehood?

Instructions for Authors: Authors interested in submitting a paper for this issue are asked to consult the journal's instructions for authors and submit their abstracts (maximum of 250 words, with a tentative title) through the abstracts system (here). When submitting their abstracts, authors are also asked to confirm that they are aware that Politics and Governance is an open-access journal with a publishing fee if the article is accepted for publication after peer-review (corresponding authors affiliated with our institutional members do not incur this fee).

Open Access: The journal has an article publication fee to cover its costs and guarantee that the article can be accessed free of charge by any reader, anywhere in the world, regardless of affiliation. We defend that authors should not have to personally pay this fee and advise them to check with their institutions if funds are available to cover open access publication fees. Institutions can also join Cogitatio's Membership Program at a very affordable rate and enable all affiliated authors to publish without incurring any fees. Further information about the journal's open access charges and institutional members can be found here.