[EGOV LIST] Call for Papers: International and Comparative Digital Government Studies Minitrack, Digital Government Track, Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS-59), January 6-9, 2026

[Tomasz Janowski via eGov-list]

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CALL FOR PAPERS
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International and Comparative Digital Government Studies Minitrack
https://hicss.hawaii.edu/tracks-59/digital-government/#international-and-comparative-digital-government-studies-minitrack 
 
Digital Government Track 
https://hicss.hawaii.edu/tracks-59/digital-government/ 
 
Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS-59), 
Hyatt Regency Maui, Hawaii | January 6-9, 2026
http://www.hicss.org/
 
DESCRIPTION
 
One of the tenets in digital government research is the recognition that digital government is not an isolated technological artifact but an act of putting technology in the institutional, social, economic and political context and transforming both – the technology and the context – in the process. The context conveys the research problem or question, provides the data to address/answer them, and helps validate the proposed solution/answer.

While the national or sub-national contexts dominate, focusing on country-, state- or city-level policies, services, institutions and citizens, international and comparative studies are taking up. The reasons include: globalization and anti-globalization of technology, the influence of international organizations and international standards, problems/questions are shared and call for coordinated solutions/answers between countries, problems/questions concern relationships between countries, solutions/answers are transferred between countries, etc. Additionally, as countries face the challenge and risk of implementing their digital policies using highly dynamic and disruptive technologies, and managing the resulting social, economic and political change, their look to learn from each other to avoid making mistakes or even skipping early development stages altogether. They also seek to coordinate their responses to the growing international influence of BigTech on the national sovereignty and the rights of countries’ citizens and businesses. International and comparative digital government research is a tool in such learning and coordination.
 
TOPICS

This minitrack calls for the submissions of research work covering international and comparative aspects of digital government. We welcome exploratory, theoretical, empirical or applied research, originating in social, economic, political or multidisciplinary discourses. The topics include but are not limited to:
1. Comparative analysis of digital government across countries
2. Cybersecurity strategies in international relations
3. Digital authoritarianism versus democratic governance
4. Digital diplomacy and global governance frameworks
5. Digital diplomacy and international negotiations
6. Digital government and state capacity in the digital age
7. Digital government in democratic vs autocratic or authoritarian countries
8. Digital government in developing vs developed countries
9. Digital government in different socio-political cultures and environments
10. Digital government responses to climate change and other global challenges
11. Digital government responding to democratic breakup
12. Digital identity and national branding
13. Digital solutions to leverage international and humanitarian aid
14. Digital sovereignty and national control over data
15. Evaluation of cross-border digital government initiatives
16. Evaluation of cross-border digital service delivery models
17. Geopolitics of digital government
18. Impact assessment of international collaboration on digital government
19. Implementation of international digital identity systems
20. International case studies on digital government
21. International coordination on AI regulation and safety
22. International digital services to migrants and migrant communities
23. International standards for AI in government and society
24. International cloud provision enabling public sector innovation
25. International data sharing frameworks in public administration
26. International digital government measurement and benchmarking
27. International organizations shaping digital government policies
28. International standards for digital infrastructure
29. National factors influencing digital government service adoption
30. Open data policies for international collaboration
31. Political economy of digital government
32. Public diplomacy and digital storytelling
IMPORTANT DATES
 
June 15, 2025 | 11:59 pm HST: Paper Submission Deadline
August 17, 2025 | 11:59 pm HST: Notification of Acceptance/Rejection
September 22, 2025|11:59 pm HST: Deadline for Authors to Submit Final Manuscript for Publication
October 1, 2025 | 11:59 pm HST: Conference registration deadline for at least one author of each paper
 
MINITRACK CO-CHAIR
 
Tomasz Janowski (Primary Contact), Gdańsk University of Technology, Poland, tomasz.janowski at pg.edu.pl
Elsa Estevez, National University of the South, Argentina, ecestevez at gmail.com
Beth Noveck, Northeastern University, USA, noveck at thegovlab.org
Adegboyega Ojo, Carleton University, Canada, adegboyega.ojo at carleton.ca