2010-02-20: Strategic Narratives panels at the 2010 ISA Annual Convention

A strategic narrative is a narrative forged by a state with the express purpose of influencing the foreign policy behavior of other actors. This communicative work is particularly critical in periods of transition in the international system when challengers to hegemonic powers emerge, such as the challenge of China, India and the EU to the existing US-led world order. Over the past 12 months a research programme on strategic narratives has been initiated by the NPCU, Centre for European Politics at Royal Holloway, and Centre for Global Political Economy at the University of Sussex. This programme has been recognised by the International Studies Association, which will host two panels on the theme on Saturday 20 February 2010 at the ISA Annual Convention in New Orleans. The first panel presents recent studies of the strategic narrative work undertaken by major powers (and some non-state actors). The second brings together leading figures with experience of policy, media and academia for a roundtable discussion on the ‘battle for influence’ in international affairs.

 

Research Panel: Identity, Persuasion and Strategic Narratives (10.30am)

Papers:

  • Laura Roselle: Communicating Strategic Narratives: Constructing the Post-Cold War International System
  • Alister Miskimmon: The European Security Strategy as a Strategic Narrative: Projecting European Union influence?
  • Karin Fierke: The Body as Strategic Narrative: Self Sacrifice and Power in International Relations
  • Cristina Archetti: Constructing the Al-Qaida Narrative: Media and Communication in the Radicalization process
  • Ben O'Loughlin: Media Diplomacy, Non-Linear Narratives and Digital Emergence
  • Discussant: Andreas Antoniades, University of Sussex

 

Roundtable: The Battle for Influence: Great Powers in the 21st Century (3.45pm)

Participants:

  • Parag Khanna, New America Foundation
  • Philip Seib, University of Southern California
  • Jeffrey Legro, University of Virginia
  • Laura Roselle, Elon University
  • Fabio Petito, University of Sussex
  • Ben O'Loughlin, NPCU
  • Alister Miskimmon, Royal Holloway, University of London

 

For further information please contact Ben.OLoughlin@rhul.ac.uk.

 

2009-09-14: Web metrics workshop

The NPCU is holding a one-day workshop on 14 September 2009 to launch our focus on web metrics. The purpose of the workshop is to establish a research theme of Web metrics and political behaviour that will enable both academics and practitioners to debate and to shape an interdisciplinary research agenda that will:

 

1) Examine the increasing degree to which Web metrics can be used to measure and potentially predict such political behaviour from election voting to terrorism.

2) Bring together the combined expertise and opinions of academics, government and private sector actors to advance research in this field and inform debate.

3) Attract further support and interest from other people to form a community that is at the forefront at the nexus of Web metrics and political behaviour.

Speakers include:

 

Simon Collister: Head of Consumer Digital, Weber Shandwick

 

Rob Pearson: Digital Diplomacy, Foreign and Commonwealth Office

 

Simon Bergman: Information Options

 

Carrie Baker and Dominic Campbell: FutureGov

 

Dr Maura Conway and Lisa McInery: Department of Law & Government, Dublin City University

 

Darren Lilleker: Department of Media and Communications, Bournemouth University

 

Claire Spencer: I to I Research

2009-08-11: Andrew Chadwick to present at ASA Conference Thematic Session

Andrew Chadwick will be presenting a paper to the American Sociological Association's Annual Conference in San Francisco in August. Details below.

Chadwick, A. (2009) 'The Internet and Democratic Engagement: Granularity, Informational Exuberance, and Political Learning' Presentation to the American Sociological Association Annual Conference (Thematic Session on 'Democracy 2.0?: Participation and Politics in New Media') San Francisco, August 8-11.

2009-06-25 Governing Through the Future

Ben O'Loughlin will participate in a two-day workshop Governing Through the Future this week in London, presenting a paper with Andrew Hoskins (Warwick) exploring how the recording and digitization of our lives disrupts the linearity of the politics of past-present-future. The meaning of events becomes impossible to settle for good because of growing awareness of the potential for new shattering images to emerge. Governance must live with this, and we discuss how new strategies of anticipation and definition are becoming clear, namely premediation and postmediation. Ultimately, what is being governed is not the future, but an extended present (Nowotny, 1994), a continually emergent and adapting set of strategies and foci within which all eventualities are not so much controlled but smoothed and nudged along.

2009-05-18 International conference: Reframing the Nation - May 18-19

The NPCU is co-organising an international conference in Central London on 18-19 May 2009, entitled Reframing the Nation: Media Publics and Strategic Narratives. This is the latest in a series of events examining how states use media to project their identity and interests in order to achieve strategic goals in the global arena, and the ways in which citizens respond to - and contribute to - these narratives. The conference brings together scholars from international relations, diplomacy studies, media and communications, and sociology, as well as media and policy practitioners.

 

Keynote speakers include:

Sir Lawrence Freedman (King's College, London)

Nick Cull (Annenberg School, University of Southern California)

Laura Roselle (Elon University)

Philip Seib (Annenberg School, University of Southern California)

Paschal Preston (Dublin City University)

Annabelle Sreberny, SOAS

 

For details, including information for prospective participants, click here.

2009-03-23: Nick Anstead and Will Straw's "The Change We Need" - Fabian Society book launch

New Political Communication Unit PhD student and UEA politics lecturer Nick Anstead today publishes The Change We Need: What Britain Can Learn from Obama's Victory, a Fabian Society book co-edited with Will Straw and featuring a Foreword by Gordon Brown. 

Links:

Book website
Launch event in central London with Alastair Campbell (sold out)
Liveblog from the launch
Video from the launch 

2009-02-28: NPCU at Labour 2.0: campaigning for the net generation conference

We'd like to draw your attention to this conference, at which Andrew Chadwick and Nick Anstead are speaking.

February 28, 2009, 11-5.30 at East Wintergarden, 43 Bank Street, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5AB

in association with

While the real analysis of the reasons for Obama’s victory has yet to be completed, it is obvious that e-campaigning played a major role and that its importance will continue to increase. As the main political parties gear up for the next general election, the focus on internet campaigning will intensify.

To what extent has the Labour party understood the potential of this new campaigning medium?
How can the centre-left use it to mobilise ordinary voters to campaign for progressive causes? 
And what steps need to be taken to pull the party into the ‘net generation’?

We hope to find answers to these questions and more at this special one day conference, which will bring together over 100 members of the left blogosphere, net-savvy Labour parliamentarians, councillors, organisers and others from the Labour movement who have an interest in e-campaigning and using the net to build a better democracy.

Book your place online now

AGENDA

11:00

Opening address

Rt Hon Douglas Alexander MP

Secretary of State for International Development


11:20

Keynote speech

Joe Rospars

New Media Director, Barack Obama's 2008 Presidential Campaign


12:00

What will the future of internet campaigning look like?

Professor Andrew Chadwick, Director, New Political Communication Unit, Royal Holloway, University of London

Greg Jackson, Tangent

Tom Steinberg, MySociety


12:45

Lunch


13:30

Mobilising the centre-left blogging community

Adam Bienkow, Tory Troll

Tom Barry, Boris Watch

Theo Blackwell, blogger and councillor

Alex Smith, writer and political activist (chair)


14:15

Fundraising and voter ID online

Gavin Shuker, Political Insight

Jag Singh, MessageSpace


15:00

Learning from the private sector

Simon Redfern

Oliver Rickman, Google


15:45

Afternoon break


16:00

Transforming Labour’s campaigns and communications through new media

Nick Anstead, University of East Anglia

Matthew McGregor, UK MD, Blue State Digital

Sue Macmillan, New Media Campaigns Taskforce Leader, The Labour Party

Paul Simpson, Tangent

Howard Dawber, PPC for Bexleyheath & Crayford (Chair)


16:45

Close of conference debate:

Can the centre-left dominate the internet despite being in office?

James Crabtree, Senior Editor, Prospect

Derek Draper, LabourList

Rt Hon David Lammy MP

Tim Montgomerie, ConservativeHome


17:30

Close


Book your place online now

Venue

East Wintergarden, 43 Bank Street, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5AB

Contact

Mark Harrison
Tel: 020 3008 8180
Fax: 020 3008 8181
e-mail: mark@progressives.org.uk

2009-05-28: International Workshop: Citizen Politics: Are the New Media Reshaping Political Engagement? Barcelona

We'd like to draw your attention to a forthcoming meeting at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, at which Andrew Chadwick will be a keynote speaker. The closing date for proposals is February 9. As below, please direct inquiries to Laia Jorba at UAB... 

Call For Papers

International Workshop

“Citizen Politics: Are the New Media Reshaping Political Engagement?"

Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain

Organiser Name Laia Jorba
Telephone +34 93 581 24 74
Email laia.jorba@uab.cat

Venue Convent de Sant Agustí, Carrer Comerç 36, Barcelona

Dates May 29th-30th, 2009 (Opening conference, May 28th)

Proposals (abstract) February 9th, 2009

Resolution February 20th, 2009

Final papers May 1st, 2009

Keynote speakers

Bruce Bimber, Andrew Chadwick, Rachel Gibson, Brian Kreuger, and Caroline Tolbert

Workshop Information

According to many scholars patterns of political engagement have been changing in the last decades: the erosion of traditional forms of involvement, such as voting and membership in political parties, is accompanied by an expansion of participation repertoires, the rise of protest politics and more individualized forms of action. This research seminar will examine whether and how the growing use of new media is related to changing attitudes and participation patterns. Internet use by citizens, parties and organisations may facilitate large scale spread of political information, reduce communication and mobilization costs, modify citizens’ political attitudes and involvement, and introduce new modes of online political participation. Although these benefits of new media are being advanced by many scholars, we still need further work to integrate the online dimension in the conceptualisation of political participation, its explanatory models, and its related normative concerns: What is the role of online resources for traditional political participation? What is the causal process by which Internet use may modify political attitudes? What is (and what is not) online participation? How do we explain it? How important are its implications for democratic politics? We welcome theoretical and empirical papers (particularly if comparative and/or combining different methodologies) addressing the following questions:

a) Conceptualisation of political participation including new repertories and particularly online modes

b) Analysis of the impact of new media on political values, attitudes and offline modes of participation

c) Analysis of the cyber activists’ profiles and characteristics and the new online modes of participation

d) Adaptation of organisations and other political and social actors to new technologies

e) Methodological challenges and opportunities concerning the study of new media and political engagement

More information

See: www.polnetuab.net

Subject to achieving additional funding, small travel grants will be awarded to PhD students