Alongside my superstar colleagues Holly Ann Garnett and Carla Luis, we have published a call for papers for our next workshop. This time we are partnering up with the Carter Center and IFES. More information here:
Drawing on previous year’s successful workshops, bringing together academics and practitioner on the study of elections and democracy, The Electoral Management Network is proud to announce a workshop preceding the 2020 meeting of the International Political Science Association.
Date: July 24, 2020
Location: Venue TBC, Lisbon, Portugal
Academic co-chairs: Holly Ann Garnett (Royal Military College of Canada), Toby James (University of East Anglia, UK) & Carla Luis (Centre for Social Studies, Portugal).
Partners: Electoral Management Network, Carter Center, IFES, Centre for Social Studies, Electoral Integrity Project, University of East Anglia
Theme: Delivering Trusted Elections: New Challenges in Electoral Management
The challenge of running elections amounts to the largest peacetime logistical operation, with the highest possible stakes. Realising well-run elections are often achieved by electoral officials around the world in the most difficult circumstances. But often electoral integrity is undermined by poor management, insufficient resources and problematic administrative systems.
Academic interest took off in the USA in light of troubled elections such as the 2000 US Presidential election. The expanding work of the international community in the field of electoral assistance has left a heavy imprint of grey literature on best practice (Carothers, 2003) and scholarship on that work (Lührmann, 2018). Cross-national work on electoral management has also ploughed new lines of enquiry (Garnett, 2017, 2019a; James, 2020; Toby S. James, Holly Ann Garnett, Leontine Loeber, & Carolien van Ham, 2019).
Elections, however, are facing new challenges. Austerity agendas have restricted resources to electoral management bodies in some countries. Public confidence in governmental institutions are often thought to be under threat. Social media has led to concerns about disinformation throughout the electoral cycle.
This workshop will consider papers on themes including (but not limited to):
- Election Administration (Voter registration, alternative voting measures, the use of technology)
- Electoral Regulation (campaign finance, media regulation, dis-and mis-information)
- Contentious Elections (electoral violence, election observation, post-election protects, dispute resolution, electoral justice)
- Electoral Management (electoral management body design, training and capacity EMB performance and methods to improve it)
Previous workshops have led to special issues in International Political Science Review (2019), Election Law (forthcoming) and Policy Studies (on inclusive voting forthcoming). Paper givers will have the opportunity to have their papers considered for another edited volume or special issue.
Paper proposals should be submitted via our web form (https://forms.gle/bgz4fL2y64FdhzKf9) including a paper title and 200 word abstract before: 15th December.
Proposal acceptances will be issued by 15th January.
Toby S. James 