The Program on Democracy and the Internet (PDI) at Stanford’s Cyber Policy Center is soliciting papers for a new initiative called “Digital Technologies in Emerging Countries: Impacts and Responses” (DTEC). The project seeks to explore the implications of new digital technologies on developing economies and societies, focusing on their political impacts, and analyze policy responses to them.  

As part of the DTEC initiative, PDI will organize a series of virtual workshops and a convening on-campus in 2022 that will lead to the publication of an edited volume in 2023 featuring key papers from the workshop series. The project invites applications from scholars and practitioners with experience in technology policy related fields in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Participants will have the opportunity to present and discuss a working paper between 3000 - 5000 words with their peers and leading faculty and scholars at Stanford’s Cyber Policy Center and the Center for Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law through the workshop series. 

The edited volume will address the following questions:

• What emerging technologies are most disruptive in emerging economies?

• What impact does the disruption have on different communities?

• Are new types of repression facilitated by the availability of technologies?

• How have new technologies affected popular mobilization and the balances of power between states and societies?

• What government responses can be observed?

• Have laws been updated or new regulatory institutions been established to protect the rights of citizens?

• What, if any, digital dominance and influence from foreign companies and governments can be observed?

• What global coalitions on technology governance are forming between like-minded countries?

Candidates who wish to participate are invited to submit their application materials including a 1-page extended abstract, a resume, and at least two references to cyber-center@stanford.edu by Feb 28th, 2022. Applications will be reviewed by the program committee and offers will be extended to authors of accepted papers by March 31st and completed drafts of the papers will be expected by April 30th.

Program participants will be required to attend the workshop series that will tentatively take place in May, Aug, and Nov of 2022. The Cyber Policy Center will provide honoraria of up to $3000 to participants and cover economy airfare and accommodation for one author per paper for a potential in-person conference on-campus in the fall of 2022. A selection of the presented papers at the convening will be published in a special issue in 2023.

Honorarium paid to a foreign national is subject to U.S. federal withholding tax of 30%. Payment may be exempt from withholding only if there is a tax treaty benefit between the United States and the foreign national’s country, and a Social Security Number (SSN) or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) is needed in order to receive the tax treaty benefit.