[DemocracyNet.eu-list] Democracy Studies - Spring Updates 2024

Thu Mar 28 12:36:08 CET 2024

Dear colleagues of the Doctoral Programme Democracy Studies,

I hope this first part of the semester went fine and you are ready for the Easter break. I would like to provide a couple of updates before we leave:

  *   The upcoming Democracy Studies Advanced Module is on “Democracy and Climate Crisis” and takes place this June. Please register via email at democracystudies at ipz.uzh.ch<mailto:democracystudies at ipz.uzh.ch> with your affiliation and matriculation number.
Democracy and the Climate Crisis<https://studentservices.uzh.ch/uzh/anonym/vvz/index.html#/details/2023/004/SM/51211130/50000007/Faculty%2520of%2520Arts%2520and%2520Social%2520Sciences/50917238/Doctorate%2520Faculty%2520of%2520Arts%2520and%2520Social%2520Sciences/50917259/Politikwissenschaft>
with Hannah Werner<https://www.ipz.uzh.ch/en/people/employees/hawern.html>
Thursday 20 and Friday 21 June 2024, h. 09:00-17:00 in AFL<https://www.plaene.uzh.ch/AFL> F 172/173
This year’s Democracy Studies Advanced Module deals with "Democracy and the Climate Crisis" and offers PhD students an exploration of the intricate relationship between democratic governance and the urgent challenges posed by climate change. First, we will look at the capacity – or a lack thereof - of existing democratic institutions to mitigate and adapt to the climate crisis. Second, we will focus on the potential threat that climate change poses to the stability of contemporary democracies, for instance through increased natural disasters, polarization and a growing legitimacy deficit. Third, we will explore the potential of rethinking and redesigning democratic institutions to preserve both planet and democracy.

  *   The 10th Swiss Summer School in Democracy Studies on Democratic Backsliding will take place from 9 to 13 September 2024. This year's programme will deal with theoretical approaches to democratic progress and regression, the roles of party competition and citizens for democratic backsliding, and the importance of political psychology for democracy. The four panels will take place in person at the University of Fribourg. The school will start with the Keynote Lecture hosted at the University of Zurich, which you are invited to attend:
Democracy under Threat: How Education Can Save It<https://www.uzh.ch/de/events/agenda.html?group=172&event=57992>

Prof. Anja Neundorf <https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/socialpolitical/staff/anjaneundorf/> University of Glasgow

Monday 9 September 2024, 14.30h.
moderated by Prof. Natasha Wunsch University of Fribourg

University of Zurich, main building

You can browse our website to read the detailed programme with abstracts<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.ipz.uzh.ch/en/study/doctorate/democracy-studies/summer-school/S3DS-2024.html__;!!Dc8iu7o!0Cd0rh5eHDJrnyQs2ORh4DybxqaL69NdSN9b_5cOES3TlfgV_8Ia8ZZIJZPOTDYIviDLKZW2_OnSUzvJNRYdXgh5q-8bh6ma0_IF$> and application instructions<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.ipz.uzh.ch/en/study/doctorate/democracy-studies/summer-school/application-instructions.html__;!!Dc8iu7o!0Cd0rh5eHDJrnyQs2ORh4DybxqaL69NdSN9b_5cOES3TlfgV_8Ia8ZZIJZPOTDYIviDLKZW2_OnSUzvJNRYdXgh5q-8bhzCslrwQ$>. I have attached the CfA to this email as well. The deadline for application submission is Wednesday, April 30, 2024. We appreciate you sharing the CfA with possibly interested PhD participants. If you are interested in attending only as an auditor, you can already register on the Event Portal of the S3DS<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.ema.uzh.ch/en/register/s3ds24.html?group=433ae0a4-f7b2-4d2d-ac17-9abd9264f7ba*events__;Iw!!Dc8iu7o!0Cd0rh5eHDJrnyQs2ORh4DybxqaL69NdSN9b_5cOES3TlfgV_8Ia8ZZIJZPOTDYIviDLKZW2_OnSUzvJNRYdXgh5q-8bhzf3U1wh$>.

  *   I would also like to infrom all of you that Emma Hoes<https://www.ipz.uzh.ch/de/personen/mitarbeitende/ehoes.html> is co-organizing an interdisciplinary workshop on ‘Dynamic Disinformation’ for PhDs and PostDocs, planned to take place in November in Amsterdam. Please feel free to contact her indicating your interest or for any question you might have.
Dynamic Disinformation workshop
Disinformation studies are often based on an outdated understanding of online social networks (OSN). A typical disinformation study is based on scraping static content from social media and further analysis. Interventions derived from these studies often involve fact-checking, bot detection, advertisement transparency or algorithmic filtering.  However, contemporary OSN increasingly feature dynamic content, such as live streamed, real-time AI generated multimedia, dynamic virtual environments (e.g. Fortnight) or chat conversations (e.g. Discord). On platforms like Snapchat, Twitch and Instagram such content is only temporarily available or live only. Studying the spread and impact of disinformation that is produced, distributed and consumed in this manner is of growing importance, since younger generations spend increasingly consume such media. However, researchers often lack methods, tools and even the conceptual frameworks to do so.  As a result, dynamic disinformation is not accounted for in policy frameworks, there is a lack of intervention strategies and a reporting gap. The EU Disinfo Code of Practice indicators for example focus on static content such as moderated posts, accounts, advertisements, fake interactions, etc.  The aim of this workshop is conceptualize the notion of dynamic disinformation and develop a new framework. The outcomes will be newly formulated research questions, identification of existing suitable or the need for new tools and methods, and ideas for (policy) interventions.

Feel free to drop me an email if you have any questions.

I wish you all a lovely and relaxing holiday.

Best,

Sofia

Dr. Sofia Bollo
Programme Manager
Doctoral Programme Democracy Studies DPDS
University of Zurich | Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Graduate School (c/o Department of Political Science)
Affolternstrasse 56
CH-8050 Zurich
Office AFL-F-118
+(0)41 44 634 50 22
Office days: Wed, Thu. Homeoffice: Fri
democracystudies at ipz.uzh.ch<mailto:democracystudies at ipz.uzh.ch>
www.ipz.uzh.ch/en/democracystudies<http://www.ipz.uzh.ch/en/democracystudies>

[signature_1875683577]<http://www.ipz.uzh.ch/en/democracystudies>

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