Short Description: This call for papers invites researchers, practitioners and Startup Society entrepreneurs to explore the concepts, examples, future trajectories, implications, and dynamics of Pop-Up Cities and Network States, and other types of Special Jurisdictions, Special Economic Zones, and Startup Societies, in general.

Topic: Investigating Future Startup Society Trajectories: Pop-Up Cities and Network States:

While only recently have Network States and Pop Up Cities began to become popular, their potential on physical Startup Societies is worth exploring from an academic perspective.  

”Pop-Up Cities" are organized agglomerations of individuals intentionally created by people with similar views on particular topics. One example is Burning Man, a week-long festival in the Nevada desert, where 70,000 people meet every year, bring their own supplies, and create all the infrastructure usually present in cities: roads, exchange networks, “neighborhoods”, food supply chains, fun experiences, art, culture, shared identities, etc. Another one is Zuzalu, which hosts two-month long conferences around the world focused on Ethereum-Based technologies, health, longevity, governance and decentralization. They define themselves as a playground for cross-pollination experiments. And let’s not leave out Vitalia, a nomadic event that aims currently in Prospera SEZ in Honduras, to research and bring together a community of “residents” interested in extending life expectancy. Pop Up cities feed from Digital Nomadism and seem to loosen up the idea of residence.

On the other hand, a Network State, as described by Balaji Srinivasan (2022) in the book with the same name, is a “highly aligned online community with a capacity for collective action that crowdfunds territory around the world and eventually gains diplomatic recognition from pre-existing states”(p. 10). For some, Network States are the future of governance. For others, they will never be able to gain the diplomatic recognition they seek. For others, they are a layer that sits on top of other Startup Societies. 

The emergence of  Pop-Up Cities, and Network States as a digital-powered type of Startup Society are a fascinating topic of research; one that touches topics such as Decentralized Autonomous Organizations, self-sufficient, self-organizing communities, Special Economic Zones, and other traditional urban environments (cities and towns with fixed infrastructure and fixed or semi-fixed populations, etc.) and others. This call for papers invites researchers, practitioners and Startup Society entrepreneurs to explore the concepts, examples, future trajectories, implications, and dynamics of Pop-Up Cities and Network States, some examples of topics can be found below:

• The evolution and impact of pop-up cities and Network States
• How Pop up Cities and Network States reshape and redefine cities and urbanism.
• Concepts, typologies, definitions
• Differences and similarities with traditional, more fixed and territorial forms of governance

• Future impact
• Techno Futurism, technological relations to Pop Up Cities and Network States
  

Submissions are welcome from a range of disciplines, such as urban studies, economics, political science, sociology, law, geography, technology studies, among others. Contributions may include empirical research, theoretical analyses, case studies, policy evaluations, and interdisciplinary collaborations. Contributions must be original. 

 

Submission Guidelines:

• Intentions to submit close on September 30th, 2024
• Full papers, in English or Spanish, should be submitted by October 30th, 2024, through the Author’s section of the Journal of Special Jurisdictions website. 
• Papers should be between 6,000 and 12,000 words, excluding references and appendices.
• All papers will be subject to a blind peer review process.
• Accepted papers will be published in Issue V of the Journal of Special Jurisdictions