DiploNews – Issue 62 – 26 July 2004
Call for Papers – International Conference on Multistakeholder Diplomacy
Modern international relations has shown that traditional diplomatic processes are not sufficient for addressing complex new issues such as health, environmental protection and trade. Increasingly, other actors are becoming involved, beyond the traditional national states and international organisations. One of the most complex issues on the international agenda today is ICT and the Information Society, as demonstrated by the recent World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) and related events. This issue is both multi-disciplinary (encompassing various fields including technology, economy, impact on society, regulatory and legal issues and governance) and multistakeholder (involving various actors including states, international organisations, civil society and the private sector). This conference will examine the multistakeholder approach to diplomacy in general, with particular focus on the role and impact of various stakeholders in the WSIS process.
We invite the submission of proposals for paper on topics within the conference themes. Prospective authors should submit a short abstract (400 words) and a biography (150 words) by July 31, 2004. Proposals can be submitted via the conference website, or by e-mail to conference@diplomacy.edu.
Please see the conference website for further details.
Call for Applications: Language and Diplomacy Online Course
This course, starting on October 6, 2004, explores how language works and how it can best be put to work in the service of diplomacy and international relations. It promotes language awareness as a means of improving diplomatic and political skills. Close attention is paid to case studies of treaties, presidential speeches, public announcements, government advertising and media material in order to link theoretical discussion to practical examples. The course is conducted entirely online over a period of two months.
The deadline for applications is September 1, 2004. For more information or to apply, visit the course website or e-mail admissions@diplomacy.edu.
News from the Diplo Network: An African Analysis of the War in Iraq
Diplo is pleased to initiate a web page offering reviews of publications related to diplomacy and international relations. The first featured publication is An African Analysis of the War in Iraq, edited by Professor Jean-Emmanuel Pondi, Director of the International Relations Institute of Cameroon. This book is an unusual and courageous approach to a major conflict of our days. One of the aims of the publication is to counter the reproach often made to African scholars of their tendency to think through an intermediary or to react with a certain delay in their assessment of major international issues. The reactions of African political scientists, economists, historians, geostrategists, religious thinkers and communication experts, contained in this collective work, offer a valuable insight into recent events.
For more information on the African Analysis of the War in Iraq, please contact Professor Pondi (jemmanuelpondi@hotmail.com).
Diplo is a member of a network of sister institutions which includes the Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies in Malta, the Institute of International Relations of Trinidad and Tobago, the International Relations Institute of Cameroon and the Institute of Diplomacy and International Studies in Nairobi.
Click here to visit Diplo’ new book reviews page, which also features several reviews contributed by Aldo Matteucci, Diplo’s lecturer on International Trade Relations and Diplomacy. Please contact us if you would like us to review your book, or if you would like us to post your review of a relevant publication.
Police to Monitor Chat Rooms
Police forces from around the world will join forces to monitor Internet chat rooms in an effort to deter pedophiles who find their victims over the web. A BBC article from June 9, 2004, reports that police officers will enter chat rooms, perhaps using a special icon to alert users to their presence. This effort builds on covert work already carried out in this field, including the use of websites appearing to offer child pornography, which instead inform offenders that they could face 10 years in jail for their actions.
Inappropriate contact with a child via the Internet is generally approached legally in the same way as the traditional crime of child abuse, rather than as a cybercrime. For example, this is the approach taken by the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime. However, the wide reaching capabilities of the Internet and the extent to which children are exposed to threats, making the Internet much more than just a simple tool for committing the crime, call this approach into question.
For more details about the police effort to monitor chat rooms see BBC article. For more information on cybercrime and other legal aspects of the information society, please consult the Information Society Portal.
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