Journal of Cyber Policy

ICTs have changed modern society, politics, democracy and international relations. They have created new efficiencies, new opportunities and new threats, and have fundamentally changed the way people, businesses and countries communicate. But this change and development has been neither equal now equitable. Despite the centrality of the internet in everyday life, 2.6 billion people do not have access to it due to the affordability of necessary tools and technologies, and the lack of digital infrastructure.

In 2003-2005, the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) adopted a Declaration of Principles, set out a Plan of Action, and created the Internet Governance Forum. The original WSIS process was characterised by sharp divisions on the governance of critical internet resources such as domain names and IP addresses. It also sought to mainstream the priorities of the Global South, such as connecting the unconnected.

2025 will mark twenty years since the first WSIS process and will be an opportunity to celebrate the process made, take stock of developments since 2003, and devise solutions to new and continuing problems. Considering also the UN Secretary General’s proposed Global Digital Compact – through which the UN will seek to establish “shared principles for an open, free and secure digital future for all” – 2024 will be a significant year for internet governance.

The Journal calls for papers which explore one or more the following themes. This list is not exhaustive, and the team is willing to consider other relevant topics.

* The future of multi-stakeholder internet governance such as ICANN, IETF and IGF, and the intersection with multilateral processes such as the Global Digital Compact.
* A stocktake of the successes and opportunities for improvement in mult-istakeholder governance in the approach to WSIS20.
* The role of non-aligned countries in the future of internet governance.
* Gender, racial and intersectional approaches to the digital divide and/or internet governance.
* Fragmentation risks for Internet architecture and governance.
* History of WSIS and its progress, drawing out policy lessons for tomorrow's internet.
* Cybersecurity and trust.

Under this call for papers, the Journal will accept the following types of submission:

* Research article;
* Practitioner article; and
* Book review.

Prospective authors can find details of each type of submission under the Journal's 'Instructions for Authors'.

When submitting your abstract or manuscript, please choose 'World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) +20'.

Abstracts should be submitted via the Journal's submission portal. While the Journal is requesting abstracts by 23 August 2024, prospective authors may choose to submit a full manuscript in the first instance.

Instructions for AuthorsSubmit an Article