Communication, Social Justice and Democracy Working Group

The Communication, Social Justice and Democracy (CSD) Working Group was approved by IAMCR's International Council in November 2023. It will organise its first sessions at the 2025 conference.

The Communication, Social Justice and Democracy Working Group aspires to function as a space of intellectual exchange, stimulating reflective and critical research in the intersecting areas of social justice, democracy and communication. Embracing diverse methods, paradigms and epistemic cultures, the WG welcomes research on:

• the diverse understandings and practices of social justice and democracy in the different parts of the world, moving beyond western conceptualisations and embracing non-human-centric approaches in considerations of viable democracy and justice (e.g., eco-justice),
• how contestations of democracy, and the rising appeal of the far-right and of authoritarian regimes are entangled with a failure to genuinely address social justice claims,
• how digital communication and AI are used in mediating, facilitating or destabilising democracy, enabling or disabling social justice claims,
• how state and corporate forms of surveillance, disinformation and propaganda contribute to social injustice and citizens’ rights violations,
• how citizens resist oppression and authoritarian systems that assault democracy, struggling for fairer societies, dignity and freedom, 
• critically examining, in all cases, the role of spaces, practices and technologies of communication, in these contestations and struggles.

Co-chair: Vaia Doudaki (Charles University, Czech Republic) [Contact]
Co-chair: Fernando Oliveira Paulino (University of Brasilia, Brazil) [Contact]​​​​​​​
Vice-chair: Yiming Chen (Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, China) [Contact]

See the list of all current members of the Communication, Social Justice and Democracy Working Group Section.

To join the Communication, Social Justice and Democracy Working Group, login to your account and select My Sections and Working Groups from the menu.