IPSA RC 41 - Geopolitics

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17Feb 2024

IPSA RC 41 & 15 Seventh International Workshop on "Political Geography and Geopolitics as scientific approaches: concepts, theories, methods", Corvinus University of Budapest, Hungary, October 11-13, 2024

 

International Political Science Association

Research Committee 41 – Geopolitics

Research Committee 15 – Political and Cultural Geography

 

Seventh International Workshop on

 

Political Geography and Geopolitics as scientific approaches: concepts, theories, methods, and cases

11 – 13 October 2024

Corvinus University of Budapest, Hungary

 

Call for Papers

Deadline – April 1st, 2024

 

The IPSA joint RC41 and RC15 Seventh International Workshop in Budapest, titled Political Geography and Geopolitics as scientific approaches: concepts, theories, methods, and cases is organized by the Corvinus Institute for Advanced Studies and the Lab of Geopolitics, Corvinus University of Budapest. Following the previous workshops in Moscow (2010), Jerusalem (2013), Austin (2019), Yerevan (2021), Moscow (2022), and Belgrade (2023), the 2024 Budapest Workshop will continue the traditional framework, limiting the participation to a smaller group of scholars to discuss contemporary theoretical and empirical puzzles of geopolitics and political geography. The two-day workshop is designated to bring together up to fifteen leading scholars on geopolitics and political geography to discuss the theoretical, methodological, and empirical development of the discipline.

Accordingly, the Budapest Workshop will be conducted in an open discussion format, with scholarly presentations divided into three panel sessions, with 3-5 panelists for each session. The presentation (10-15 minutes) will be followed by a brief set of oral comments by the designated discussant, after which the floor will be open to questions and comments from the audience (45 to 60 minutes).

The list of the workshop topics includes:

  • The place of concepts and theories in political geography & geopolitics
  • Reshaping methodological approaches in political geography & geopolitics
  • Representing, visualizing, and interpreting geopolitical data
  • Historical and archival research in political geography & geopolitics
  • Geotagged surveys and interviews in political geography & geopolitics
  • Spatial statistical analysis, spatial econometrics, and GIS technologies in political geography & geopolitics; wargaming / software and in vivo simulations
  • Application of specific theories and concepts in empirical case studies in political geography & geopolitics

 

Keynote speaker

Professor David Criekemans

University of Antwerp

 

Applying for the Workshop

Unlike other international conferences, the Workshop framework is designed to limit participation to a smaller and rather selected group of invitees, each bringing to bear his or her disciplinary expertise or area studies specialization. Anyone wishing to participate in the 2024 RC-41 and RC-15 Budapest Workshop is invited to submit an initial abstract. The abstract (between 300 and 500 words) should be sent to Nuno Morgado at nuno.morgado@uni-corvinus.hu and to Igor Okunev at okunev_igor@yahoo.com. Abstracts will not be accepted after April 1st, 2024. Notice of Acceptance will be sent to the participants by April 15th, 2024.

No Registration fee for the Workshop is required.

Acceptance is conditioned, however, upon the participant’s commitment to full, active attendance at all panel sessions and discussions throughout the three days of the Workshop, in addition to one paper presentation. Participants in the 2024 Budapest Workshop are expected to cover all personal transportation arrangements, accommodation, and expenses. Limited IPSA conference travel grants may be available upon special request to help defray partial air fare costs for junior scholars or in exceptional cases.

PUBLICATION

All papers presented at the Workshop will be published in a joint edited volume by Corvinus University of Budapest and the University of Belgrade.

 

TIMELINE

February 20th, 2024          – Announcement & Call for Papers

April 1st, 2024                  – Deadline for Submission of Abstracts

April 15th, 2024                 – Notice of Acceptance

July 1st, 2024                       – Full Paper Submission

September 30th, 2024      – Final Program

 

2024Budapest_IPSA

11Jan 2023

IPSA RC 41 & 15 Sixth International Workshop on "THE WORLD “SHATTERING”: WHAT`S IN STORE FOR THE GEOPOLITICAL SYSTEM TO COME?", Belgrade, Serbia, October 6-8, 2023

International Political Science Association

Research Committee 41 – Geopolitics

Research Committee 15 – Political and Cultural Geography

 

 

Sixth International Workshop on

THE WORLD “SHATTERING”:

WHAT`S IN STORE FOR THE GEOPOLITICAL SYSTEM TO COME?

Friday, 6th October – Sunday, 8th October 2023

Belgrade, Republic of Serbia

 

 

Call for Papers

Deadline – April 1, 2023

The 2023 Belgrade Workshop on “The World ‘Shattering’: What`s In Stored for the Geopolitical System to Come?” represents the Sixth International IPSA`s Research Committees 41 – Geopolitics and 15 – Political and Cultural Geography Workshop, organized by the Faculty of Security Studies, University of Belgrade. Following the previous workshops in Moscow (2010), Jerusalem (2013), Austin (2019), Yerevan (2021) and Moscow (2022), the 2023 Belgrade Workshop will follow in the similar framework to limit participation to a smaller group of scholars to discuss contemporary theoretical and empirical puzzles of geopolitics and political geography. The workshop is designated to bring together leading scholars on geopolitics and political geography to discuss the changing nature of the current geopolitical system, regional implications of those changes, state`s responses to the changing geopolitical system as well as possible outcomes of such changes.

Accordingly, the Belgrade Workshop will be conducted in an open discussion format, with scholarly presentations divided into three panel sessions, with 3-5 panelists for each session. The presentation (10-15 minutes) will be followed by a brief set of oral comments by the designated discussant, upon which the floor will be open to questions and comments from the audience (45 to 60 minutes).

In line with the main topic of the Belgrade Workshop, the three panel themes will revolve around different scales of observation of the changes of the contemporary geopolitical system. Concretely, the three panel themes are devoted to:

  1. Changing nature of the geopolitical system – the session will focus on the global scale and aim to give insight on the questions issues: geopolitical structure of the global system; main drivers of systemic change; geopolitical transition and its consequences; characteristics of the coming geopolitical order; the nature of the coming global geopolitical discourse; global power competition; and similar.

 

  1. Regional implications of changing geopolitical system – the session will focus on the regional scale and aim to give insight on the: contemporary political and security processes in various geopolitical regions; changes in characteristics of different regions; “shattering” of regions in light of superpower tensions; and similar.

 

  1. States` response to the changing geopolitical system – the session will focus on the individual states` scale and aim to give insight on: ways states adapt (with varying degrees of success) to global changes; contemporary geopolitical codes and sense of space of states; practical geopolitical reasoning of political elites; grand strategies of states; and similar. Contributions are welcome for great and regional powers as well as small states.

 

 

Applying for the Workshop

Anyone wishing to participate in the 2023 RC-41 and RC-15 Belgrade Workshop and to contribute by assessing any of the above topics is invited to submit an initial paper proposal. The Proposal and/or Abstract (between 300 and 500 words) should be sent to Mihajlo Kopanja at kopanja.fb@gmail.com and to Igor Okunev at okunev_igor@yahoo.com. Proposals/Abstracts should be submitted no later than April 1st, 2023. Notice of Acceptance will be sent to the participants by April 15th, 2023.

No Registration fee for the Workshop is required.

Acceptance is conditioned, however, upon the participant’s commitment to full, active attendance at all panel sessions and discussions throughout the two days of the Workshop, in addition to one paper presentation. Participants in the 2023 Belgrade International Workshop are expected to cover all personal transportation arrangements, accommodation and expenses. Limited IPSA conference travel grants may be available upon special request to help defray partial air fare costs for junior scholars or in exceptional cases.

ALL PAPERS PRESENTED AT THE WORKSHOP WILL BE PUBLISHED IN AN EDITED VOLUME BY THE FACULTY OF SECURITY STUDIES, UNIVERSITY OF BELGRADE.

 

TIMELINE:

January 15th, 2023 – Announcement & Call for Papers

April 1st, 2023 – Submission of Proposals/Abstracts

April 15th, 2023 – Notice of Acceptance

June 15th, 2023 – Full Paper Submission

September 1st, 2023 – Final Program

19Nov 2022

IPSA RC 41 Panels on 2023 World Congress of Political Science, Buenos Aires, Argentina, July 15-19, 2023

1. World Order in Transition? Major Power Competition and Comparative Regional Conflicts (online/closed)

Chair: Dr. Sharyl Cross

This panel will explore implications of a shifting world order or lack of order for regional conflict clashes throughout the world.  Panelists will employ international relations theories and frameworks to analyze sources and consequences of major power competition as the world security environment shifts from a unipolar to multipolar structure.  Regional case study conflicts among panel papers will provide a basis for assessing similarities and differences in interests and strategies among competing major powers. The panel should yield research findings of relevance to both the academic and policy communities.

2. Neoclassical Geopolitics: Theory, Methodology, Empirical Case Studies (onsite/open)

Chair: Dr. Nuno Morgado

Neoclassical geopolitics has been emerging as a stream or a renovated body of scientific tools for the study of International Relations. The purpose of this panel is to focus on geographical and identity realities as the substance of the geopolitical approach and, therefore, increase the explanatory power of international phenomena by the neoclassical geopolitics’ stream. In this way, the core lines of this panel are designed by theories, variables, factors, and concepts, with the highest value for geopolitical analysis.

3. Post-Westphalian Approach to Sovereignty: Political Space through New Lenses? (onsite/open)

Chair: Dr. Martin Riegl

While the demise of the Westphalian state, predicted in the euphoria at the end of the Cold War, did not occur, the 21st century brought many new challenges to the established paradigm of Western-style sovereignty. The increase in anomalies in the political space – territorial terrorist groups, continued rampant warlordism, international business conglomerates and non-governmental organisations, stalled global integration, along with the continued de-territorialisation/re-territorialisation of traditionally powerful states – warrants the re-evaluation of the theoretical and conceptual prisms used to analyse our current world. This panel aims to discuss and evaluate novel or repurposed approaches to sovereignty to better capture the modern geopolitical reality.

4. West/East Dichotomy Rebirth: Othering in World Politics (onsite/open) [co-sponcores with RC15 Political and Cultural Geography]

Chair: Dr. Igor Okunev

Edward Said's concept of Orientalism begins by paraphrasing the writing of a French journalist’s view of contemporay Orient as an expression of a major common Western misconception about the East, as it is rooted in the Western self-projection. Said used the phrase “The Other” to describe the Western fascination with the Orient , raising a number of debates among the scholars on around an epistemological and ontological way of looking at the world. The aim of this panel is to re- visit debates, conceptions and perspectives on global politics resting on this Othering. Our scope is short time and long time readings, ranging from the last world conflicts and cooperation issues to methodological and epistemological critical geopolitics and reflections around this dichotomy.

19Nov 2022

Post-Westphalian Approach to Sovereignty: Political Space through New Lenses?, IPSA RC 41 Panel on 2023 IPSA Congress, Buenos Aires, Argentina, July 15-19, 2023

Call for Papers

 

Charles University’s Geopolitical Research Centre, in cooperation with IPSA RC 41, announces a call for papers for the panel to be held at IPSA World Congress 2023 named:

Post-Westphalian Approach to Sovereignty: Political Space through New Lenses?

Chair:  Martin Riegl, PhD

Discussants:  Bohumil Doboš, PhD

The panel’s theme aims to re-consider how political space and sovereignty interact in the modern world. It intends to present and discuss novel approaches to the empirical analysis of anomalous and classical political entities. States and their borders still arguably play the primary role in any relevant analysis of the geopolitical state of play. It seems that neither doing away with states as units of analysis nor expanding their fundamental conceptual structure to new areas or their disaggregation produces a better understanding of emerging entities gaining power worldwide. Is Twitter a geopolitical actor? Was the Islamic State’s territorial control in Iraq and Syria a case of sovereignty? Both these questions, far apart as they may be, require a return to the fundamental nature of the political community, its relationship with the territory and the modelling of sovereignty. A better understanding of how political life in its most essential aspects plays out in a particular physical space and how it,
if required, is appropriated for core political purposes, would allow for a more thorough comprehension of the entities existing at the margins of the state system.
Therefore, submitted papers should provide new impetus
to developing and repurposing various theoretical perspectives on the nature of the political and how it manifests in geographical reality through the rigorous empirical application of these perspectives.  

In this regard, we propose submissions on the following topics:

  • Can the Foucaultian notions of observability and truth regimes play a role in locating political entities in physical space?
  • Are there yet unconsidered alternatives to the Westphalian state prism for understanding the political organisation of space?
  • Can the neo-medievalist theoretical model be expanded to offer new perspectives into the current political space?
  • Are multinational corporations behaving as political actors outside of their home countries?
  • How do the violent non-state actors’ organisations incorporate the notions of the political into their management of the controlled territory?
  • Or any other topic in line with the panel’s aim and

Paper proposal requirements: The proposals should be uploaded
to the IPSA website after 15 Nov 2022 as an abstract using the
following link.
In case of any questions, please reach out to us at:
branislav.micko@fsv.cuni.cz

 

Call for papers timeline:

15 Nov 2022 – Paper proposal/abstract submission opens

18 Jan 2023 – Submission deadline

1 July 2023 – Full paper submission deadline

 

06Nov 2021

IPSA RC 41 & 15 Fifth International Workshop on "POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY AND GEOPOLITICS: QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS", Moscow, Russia, November 11-13, 2022

International Political Science Association

Research Committee 41 - Geopolitics

Research Committee 15 - Political and Cultural Geography

 

Fifth International Workshop on

POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY AND GEOPOLITICS:

QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS

Friday, 11 November – Sunday, 13 November 2022

MGIMO University, Moscow, Russia

 

CALL FOR PAPERS

DEADLINE – May 1, 2022

Registration Form https://forms.gle/afGBjr6ZCqm3vHQZ8

 

The IPSA RC 41 & 15 Fifth International Workshop in Moscow is organized by the Center for Spatial Analysis in International Relations (Institute for International Studies, MGIMO University) as part of the grant program № 075-15-2020-930 “Human Capital Multidisciplinary Research Center” provided by the Russian Ministry of Higher Education and Science.

The three-day workshop is designed to bring together leading scholars on political geography and geopolitics to discuss the methodological development of the discipline. The workshop topics will include:

  • the place of political geography & geopolitics among social and Earth sciences;
  • reshaping methodological approaches in political geography & geopolitics;
  • representing, visualizing, and interpreting geopolitical data;
  • historical and archival research in political geography & geopolitics;
  • geotagged surveys and interviews in political geography & geopolitics;
  • observations and measurement in the field of political geography & geopolitics;
  • geocoding of qualitative data at case studies in political geography & geopolitics;
  • spatial statistical analysis, spatial econometrics and GIS technologies in political geography & geopolitics;
  • spatial content and discourse analysis in political geography & geopolitics.

Unlike open international conferences, the Workshop framework is designed to limit participation to a smaller and rather select group of invitees – 20 to 30 people – each bringing to bear their disciplinary expertise or area studies specialization. Accordingly, the Moscow Workshop will be conducted in a Round Table format, with scholarly presentations divided into panel sessions, with 4 – 5 papers at each session, followed by additional discussion among the academic participants and the MGIMO University student and faculty campus audience. Once the panelists have concluded their presentations (15 minutes each), a designated discussant will then respond with a brief set of oral comments (10 minutes), after which each panel chair will open the floor to questions and feedback from the audience.

Anyone wishing to participate in the 2022 IPSA RC 41 & 15 Moscow Workshop and to contribute by addressing any of the above topics is invited to submit an initial paper proposal using the registration form at https://forms.gle/afGBjr6ZCqm3vHQZ8

Final date for submission May 1, 2022

Notice of Acceptance May 15, 2022

Both onsite and online forms of participation will be available but we hope that onsite form will prevail. Acceptance is conditioned, however, upon the participant’s commitment to full, active attendance at all panel sessions and discussions throughout the two days of the Workshop, in addition to one paper presentation.

No registration fee is required. Organizers will provide the accepted participants with necessary visa assistance, printing materials and coffee breaks. Participants of the 2022 Moscow International Workshop are expected to cover all personal transportation, board and lodging arrangements and expenses.

On November, 11th-12th (Friday and Saturday) all Workshop sessions will be held on the campus of MGIMO University (76, Vernadskogo ave). The nearest subway stations are Yugo-Zapadnaya and Prospekt Vernadskogo (red line).

One day-long field trip to the Russian Palestine & New Jerusalem Monastery (60 km from Moscow by bus) is tentatively scheduled for November, 13th (Sunday). The fee for the trip is approximately 30 USD/person. For further information see: https://www.rbth.com/articles/ 2011/05/05/spend_a_day_in_jerusalem_12739.html

Contacts for inquiries: geo@inno.mgimo.ru

  • Igor Okunev, IPSA RC 41 Co-Chair (program, general inquiries)
  • Liubov Shmatkova (registration, abstract/paper submission, program)
  • Anna Kushnareva (invitations, visas, lodging advice)
  • Lidia Zhirnova (transportation and board advice, field trip)

Timeline:

6 November, 2021     Announcement & Call for Papers

1 May, 2022     Submission of Proposals / Abstracts

15 May, 2022     Notice of Acceptance

1 October, 2022     Visa Invitations& Field Trip Registration Deadline

1 November, 2022     Full Paper Submission& Final Program Announcement

05Nov 2021

7th Transatlantic Security Seminar, Austin, USA, November 15-17, 2021

The Kozmetsky Center of Excellence at St. Edward's University and the Center for European Studies and Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies at the University of Texas at Austin will co-sponsor our seventh annual “Transatlantic Security Forum” entitled "NATO, Russia, China:  World Order and 21st Century Global Security Challenges” on November 15-17, 2021 with support of the United States Department of Education Title VI National Resource Program. We are delighted to hold this seventh annual session in cooperation with the Public Diplomacy Engagement Division of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization NATO, Research Committee on Geopolitics of the International Political Science Association (IPSA) and World Affairs Council Austin.

The forum will provide expert perspectives on implications of shifting global relationships and world order for transatlantic and broader global security. Among major topics, speakers will assess the impact of COVID19 to include discussion of political systems, values and responsiveness to the pandemic, lessons of the withdrawal from the twenty-year war in Afghanistan, consequences of climate change, weapons proliferation and terrorism, regional clashes and conflicts, cyber and information security, competing visions of world order, geopolitical and security implications of shifting relationships among major powers and other topics of critical relevance to transatlantic and global security.  We are especially interested in facilitating dialogue among a diversity of national and regional experts exploring the most pressing security challenges facing the global community at this critical juncture contributing to deepening understanding of opportunities and obstacles to advancing security cooperation among nations.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2021 / 9:30 AM-12:00 PM CT

9:30 AM (CT) SESSION ONE:  TRANSATLANTIC AND GLOBAL SECURITY CHALLENGES

SPEAKERS:

Dr. Andrew A. Michta, Dean, George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies

Dr. Hao Su, Distinguished Professor, Department of Diplomacy and founding Director of Center for Strategic and Peace Studies, China Foreign Affairs University

Dr. Igor A.  Zevelev, Professor, Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) and Global Policy Scholar, Kennan Institute, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

Dr. Jamie Shea, Professor of Strategy and Security, Strategy and Security Institute, University of Exeter and former Assistant Secretary General NATO, Emerging Security Challenges

Dr. Dmitry Suslov, Deputy Director at the Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow

 

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2021/ 9:00 AM-12:00 PM CT

9:00 AM Perspective on NATO’s Strategic Concept and Security Priorities

Ambassador Baiba Braže, NATO Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy

9:30 AM (CT) SESSION TWO:  PERSPECTIVES ON WORLD ORDER

SPEAKERS:

Dr. Mark N. Katz, Professor of Government and Politics, George Mason University Schar School of Policy and Government

Dr. Minghao Zhao, Senior Fellow, Institute of International Studies/Center for American Studies, Fudan University

Dr. Julian Lindley French, Senior Fellow, Institute for Statecraft in London, Director of Europa Analytica, Netherlands, Fellow of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, founder of The Alphen Group, Strategic Advisor to Chiefs of the British Defence Staff, NATO, EU and UN

Dr. Tatyana Shakleina, Professor of Political Science and Chair of the Department of Applied Research of International Problems of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO University), Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation

Dr./Ambassador (Ret.) Daniel B. Smith, former U.S. Ambassador to Greece and Director Foreign Affairs Institute, Washington DC

 

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2021/ 9:00 AM-12:00 PM CT

9:00 AM (CT) SESSION THREE:   REGIONAL PERSPECTIVES:  EUROPE AND ASIA

SPEAKERS:

Dr. Celin Pajon, Director, Japan Research at the Center for Asian Studies of the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI) and International Research Fellow, Canon Institute of Global Studies (Tokyo)

Ms.  Hayley Channer, Senior Policy Fellow, Perth USAsia Centre, The University of Western Australia

Dr. Nivedita Das Kundu, Senior Foreign Policy Research Analyst, United Service Institution of New Delhi and Research Fellow Ministry of External Affairs Indian Council for World Affairs

Dr. Henrik Stalhane Hiim, Senior Research Fellow, Norwegian Institute of International Affairs

Dr. Savo Kentera, President, Atlantic Council of Montenegro

Dr. Barbora Maronkova, Communications Advisor on Strategic Concept, Policy Planning Unit, Office of the Secretary General, former Director of NATO Information Office in Kiev, Ukraine and former Acting Director of NATO Information Office in Moscow, Russia

Dr. Sharyl Cross, Director, Kozmetsky Center of Excellence, Conference Moderator

In addition, academics of the Geopolitics section of the International Political Science Association representing North America, Europe, Eurasia and the Indo-Pacific (Dr. Igor Okunev, Professor and Director, Center for Spatial Analysis in International Relations, Moscow State Institute of International Relations MGIMO; Dr. Heidi Lane, Associate Professor, Strategy and Policy Department, US Naval War College; Dr. Teodor Moga, Lecturer EU Foreign Affairs, Center for European Studies, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University; Dr. Alan Henrikson, Lee E. Dirks Professor of Diplomatic History Emeritus, The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, Dr. Deepika Saraswat, Research Fellow, India Council of World Affairs and Dr. Rouben Elamiryan, Chair of World Politics and International Relations, Russia-Armenian University) will participate in the sessions as discussants

ZOOM Registration:  https://stedwards.zoom.us/s/95675138741

18Jun 2021

Aharon Klieman in Memoriam

https://www.ipsa.org/sites/default/files/news-announcements/news/image-146790.jpg

The IPSA Research Committee on Geopolitics (RC 41) is deeply saddened by the passing of our colleague, friend and former chair in 2009-2021, Aharon Klieman, professor emeritus of the Tel Aviv University, Israel. He will be fondly remembered for his wisdom, warmth, and kindliness in his encounters with senior and junior scholars alike. He was an energetic and dedicated leader of the Committee and worked tirelessly for its success and for maintaining an active research agenda. Prof. Klieman was a prominent international relations scholar and a leading expert on Israeli foreign policy. He will be greatly missed.

IPSA RC 41 Geopolitics Executive Committee

24Dec 2020

IPSA RC 41 Co-Chair Textbook on Political Geography Published by Peter Lang

In Brussels, the international academic publisher Peter Lang released a textbook on Political Geography by Dr. Igor Okunev, IPSA RC 41 Geopolitics Co-Chair,.

— Contents

Political geography is a discipline concerned with the spatial dimensions of politics. This subject offers an introduction to the study of political science, international relations and area studies, providing a systemic approach to the spatial dimension of political processes at all levels. It covers their basic elements, including states, supranational unions, geopolitical systems, regions, borders, capitals, dependent, and internationally administered territories. Political geography develops fundamental theoretical approaches that give insight into the peculiarities of foreign and domestic policies. The ability to use spatial analysis techniques allows determining patterns and regularities of political phenomena both at the global and the regional and local levels.

The Russian version of this textbook, approved by the Editorial and Publishing Council of MGIMO University, has already gone through two reprints. The textbook has been approved by the professional community and a number of leading universities in Russia and CIS countries use it as the main textbook for their Political Geography courses. The Russian International Affairs Council included the book in the 2019 reading list for International Affairs students and experts. The book was translated into English by the MGIMO lecturers M.Ananyeva, N.Panich and N.Simakov. The preface to the English edition was written by Professors S.Cross and M.Ilyin.

Peter Lang is one of the leaders in academic publishing, specializing in the humanities and social sciences worldwide. It has offices in Bern, Berlin, Brussels, Oxford, New York, Warsaw, Vienna, Dublin and Istanbul. Scientific journals planning to publish a review of the textbook can contact the publisher to receive a free copy.

The textbook is available at:

Peter Lang https://www.peterlang.com/view/title/70630?rskey=TRbgQq&format=PBK

Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/2807616216/

17Dec 2019

IPSA RC 41 Fourth International Workshop on Geopolitics "Geopolitics of Small States in the 21st century", Yerevan, Armenia, October 18-19, 2021

 

IPSA RC 41 Fourth International Workshop on

GEOPOLITICS OF SMALL STATES IN THE 21ST CENTURY

Monday, 18 October – Tuesday, 19 October 2021

Yerevan, Armenia

 

Russian-Armenian University

Chair of World Politics and International Relations

 

UPDATED ANNOUNCEMENT / CALL FOR PAPERS

DEADLINE – March 1, 2021

 

On July 15, 2020 due to the COVID-19 situation, the IPSA RC41 on Geopolitics, made the difficult decision to postpone the IPSA RC 41 Fourth International Workshop on Geopolitics to October 18-19, 2021.

The Workshop venue, Russian-Armenian University in Yerevan, Armenia will remain the same. The main theme of the Workshop, "Geopolitics of Small States in the 21st century", will not change and all accepted papers will be maintained.

Additionally, to give the opportunity to new participants to attend the Workshop, we open an additional call for submissions.

The deadline for submissions is  April 15, 2021.

 

UPDATED CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS:

The intended Workshop: "Fourth International Workshop on Geopolitics of Small States in the 21st Century" in Yerevan, Armenia represents the fourth international conference organized by IPSA’s Research Committee (RC 41) on Geopolitics following those convened in Moscow (2010), Jerusalem (2013), and Austin, Texas (2019).

The two-day workshop is designed to bring together up to fifteen leading scholars on small states to discuss political, security, economic, geopolitical, and technological issues in the world which impact small states in terms of sustainable development and chances for international maneuver. This will allow: (a) discussing the main challenges and threats to the global and regional security architecture and (b) exploring possibilities for small states to transform these challenges and threats into opportunities for prosperity, peace, and cooperation.

Accordingly, the Yerevan Workshop will be conducted in an open discussion format, with scholarly presentations divided into 3 panel sessions, with 3 – 4 papers at each session, followed by additional discussion among the academic participants, representatives of the government/policy and private sector professional communities and the Russian-Armenian University student and faculty campus audience. Once the panelists have concluded their presentations, a designated discussant will then respond with a brief set of oral comments (10-15 minutes), after which each panel chair will open the floor to questions and comments (45-60 minutes) from the audience.

The 3 panel themes are devoted to:

The future of small states in the changing world order: The art of maneuver in the face of rising great power competition

The session will collect contributions on the changing international security environment, the new face of global and regional power competition, as well as its impact on formation and transformation of foreign policy agendas in different parts of the world. This session will also attract contributions on the role of international organizations in fostering interests of small states.

Technology, innovation, and small states in a changing international environment

This session brings together scholars to discuss the impact of technological developments (4th Industrial Revolution, AI, robotics, cyber security, etc.) upon the international relations of small states.

Small states, big nations: The power of Diasporas and other networks in traditional power relations

The third session will focus on non-traditional means of national power, such as Diaspora and other networks of cooperation, to enhance the role and influence of small states in the international arena.

 

Anyone wishing to participate in the 2021 RC-41 Yerevan Workshop and to contribute by addressing any of the above topics is invited to submit an initial paper proposal.

The Proposal and/or Abstract (limited to 750 words or less) should be sent to Ruben Elamiryan rub.elamiryan@gmail.com and to Igor Okunev okunev_igor@yahoo.com

Final date for submission 15 April 2021

Notice of Acceptance 31 May 2021

No Registration fee is required.

Acceptance is conditioned, however, upon the participant’s commitment to full, active attendance at all panel sessions and discussions throughout the two days of the Workshop, in addition to one paper presentation.

Participants in the 2021 Yerevan International Workshop are expected to cover all personal transportation arrangements and expenses. Limited IPSA conference travel grants may be available upon special request to help defray partial air fare costs for junior scholars or in exceptional cases.

Hotel accommodations (three nights from October 17 to October 20) during the Workshop will be provided for direct participants courtesy of Russian-Armenian University.

All Workshop sessions will be held on the campus of Russian-Armenian University.

 

Timeline:

15 December 2019                  Announcement & Call for Papers

15 April 2021                          Submission of Proposals / Abstracts

31 May 2021                         Notice of Acceptance

30 September 2021               Full Paper Submission

10 October 2021                     Final Program

21Aug 2018

IPSA RC 41 Third International Workshop on Geopolitics "BORDERS AND GEOPOLITICS IN THE 21ST CENTURY", Austin, USA, April 8-9, 2019

 

IPSA RC 41 Third International Workshop on Geopolitics

BORDERS AND GEOPOLITICS IN THE 21ST CENTURY

 

Monday, 8 April – Tuesday, 9 April 2019

Austin, TEXAS, USA

 

St. Edward’s University

Kozmetsky Center of Excellence

 

ANNOUNCEMENT / CALL FOR PAPERS

DEADLINE EXTENDED – JANUARY 1, 2019 !!!

 

The intended Workshop: "Borders and Geopolitics in the 21st Century: the Americas, Europe/Eurasia, the Middle East" in Austin, Texas represents the third international conference organized by IPSA’s Research Committee (RC 41) on Geopolitics, following those convened in Moscow (2010) and Jerusalem (2013).

Unlike open international conferences, the Workshop framework is designed to limit panel participants to a select group of invitees - 10 to 15 people - each bringing to bear his or her disciplinary expertise or area studies specialization.

Accordingly, the Austin Workshop will be conducted in an open discussion format, with scholarly presentations divided into 3 panel sessions, with 3 – 4 papers at each session, followed by additional discussion among the academic participants, representatives of the government/policy and private sector professional communities and the St. Edward’s University student and faculty campus audience. Once the panelists have concluded their presentations, a designated discussant will then respond with a brief set of oral comments (10-15 minutes), after which each panel chair will open the floor to questions and comments (45-60 minutes) from the audience. Once the panelists have concluded their presentations, a designated discussant will then respond with a brief set of oral comments (10-15 minutes), after which each panel chair will open the floor to questions and comments (45-60 minutes) from the audience.

The 3 panel themes are devoted to:

1. Borders and Geopolitics in the 21st Century: Focus on America (Chair: Dr. Sharyl Cross, St. Edward’s University). Paper-givers will include resident specialists on US-Latin America and US-Canada border issues from St. Edward’s University and other local Texas universities.

2. Borders and Geopolitics in the 21st Century: Focus on the Middle East (Chair: Dr. Aharon Klieman, Tel-Aviv University).

3. Borders and Geopolitics in the 21st Century: Focus on Europe/Eurasia (Chair: Dr. Igor Okunev, MGIMO University).

The chosen venue -- The Kozmetsky Center at St. Edward’s University -- aims to enrich the intellectual life of St. Edward's University and to serve as a resource for informing the broader public on critical global issues. It facilitates discussions among experts, students, faculty and the broader public in a variety of forums. Past speakers include American and foreign diplomats, policy makers, university scholars, and leaders from within the business, non-profit and cultural communities. It also periodically hosts short-term resident visiting scholars and practitioners from the United States and around the world to share their expertise and diverse perspectives with the St. Edward’s University community.

Anyone wishing to participate in the 2019 RC-41 Austin Workshop and to contribute by addressing any of the above topics is invited to submit an initial paper proposal.

The Proposal and/or Abstract (limited to 750 words or less) should be sent to Professor Aharon Klieman at aklieman@gmail.com

Final date for submission 1 December 2018 (DEADLINE EXTENDED - JANUARY 1, 2019 !!!)

Notice of Acceptance 20 December 2018

No Registration fee is required.

Acceptance is conditioned, however, upon the participant’s commitment to full, active attendance at all panel sessions and discussions throughout the two days of the Workshop, in addition to one paper presentation.

Participants in the 2019 Austin International Workshop are expected to cover all personal transportation and accommodation arrangements and expenses. Limited IPSA conference travel grants may be available upon special request to help defray partial air fare costs in exceptional cases.

All Workshop sessions will be held on the campus of St. Edward’s University.

 

Timeline:

1   September 2018             Announcement & Call for Papers

1   December  2018             Submission of Proposals / Abstracts (DEADLINE EXTENDED - JANUARY 1, 2019 !!!)

20 December  2018             Notice of Acceptance

15 March         2019             Full Paper Submission

1   April            2019             Final Program

 

AUSTIN_ANNOUNCEMENT.pdf

15Aug 2017

RC 41 Geopolitics Panels, IPSA World Congress, Brisbane, Australia, July 21-25, 2018

List of RC-41 panels

Subject: Invitation to submit a paper abstract to a panel

This is an invitation to have your paper included in a panel for IPSA's 25th World Congress of Political Science which will be held 21-25 July 2018 in Brisbane, Australia.

For inclusion in the panel:   Energy and Economic Interdependence             

For inclusion in the panel:  Eurasian Geopolitical Contests and Realignments

For inclusion in the panel:  The Geopolitics of China’s “One Belt, One Road” Initiative

For inclusion in the panel:  U.S. Disengagement and the Problem of International Order

Please click on the link below to submit your paper abstract by 25 October 2017.

https://wc2018.ipsa.org/my-congress/invited-paper/701280

Please note all participants at the World Congress of Political Science will have to become IPSA members before registering for the World Congress.  You do not need to be a member of IPSA until you register for the congress.

For more information about the Congress, please visit wc2018.ipsa.org. If you should have any questions, please reply to this email or contact the Congress team at wc2018@ipsa.org.

 

Panel Proposal (1)

U.S. Disengagement and the Problem of International Order

To what extent does a stable international order depend on continued active engagement and leadership by the United States?

For nearly seven decades the United States has created and sustained key international institutions, encouraged regional stability, provided deterrence and reassurance for allies, opposed nuclear weapons proliferation, underpinned the global economy, promoted trade liberalization and economic development, and often – but not always – encouraged human rights and democratization. However, following upon the cautious, reactive policies of the Obama administration, the “America First” rhetoric of the Trump presidency now signals the possibility of an historic reorientation of U.S. foreign relations.

An America no longer confidently acting as the “indispensable nation” would pose, in turn, a fundamental challenge to the existing international system, testing its ability to contain rising revisionist powers and geopolitical contests in East Asia, the Middle East, and Europe, thereby assuring basic global order and stability.  

Panel organizers invite submission of proposals addressing the above leading question in either of its two parts: on the one hand, U.S. capacity and purpose; on the other hand, the range of compensatory mechanisms: institutional, procedural, alliances, conflict resolution, etc. 

Convenor:         Aharon Klieman

Co-Chairs:         Robert Lieber and Aharon Klieman

Discussant:

 

Panel Proposal (2)

Eurasian Geopolitical Contests and Realignments

The balance of power in and across Eurasia is changing dramatically as the shifting interests of the U.S., Russia, China and EU conspire to redefine the structure of geopolitics on the continent. So, too, is Eurasian equilibrium increasingly influenced by social, political and economic turbulence in the adjacent regions of the east European, Middle East, central Asian, northeast Asian and Caucasus rimlands.

These changes pose serious policy challenges as well theoretical questions for students of geopolitics:

  • Are we on the threshold of a bipolar-, tripolar-, or multi-polar “moment” in Eurasia?
  • What factors are likely to determine the hierarchy of influence and power on the continent?
  • Who are the actors best positioned to lead in the rebalancing of power?
  • Where are the most readily identifiable trouble spots?

Lastly, which of these flashpoints has the greatest potential for tipping the delicately-poised scales between Eurasian peace and prosperity, on the one hand, and renewed instability and turmoil?

The Panel is sponsored by the International Political Science Association’s Research Committee on Geopolitics (RC-41). Proposals are encouraged from historical and other perspectives and disciplines as well as from area specialists on Eurasian affairs.

Convenor:      Aharon Klieman

Chair:             Igor Okunev

Discussant:

 

Panel Proposal (3)

The Geopolitics of China’s “One Belt, One Road” Initiative

Launched by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, the “One Belt, One Road” (OBOR) proposal formally aims to improve connectivity and cooperation among Asian, African and European countries by linking multi-billion dollar infrastructure projects across land and maritime routes from China to Europe.

Critics of the initiative dismiss it as primarily a geopolitical undertaking, whereby China deploys economic instruments on behalf of its two principal strategic goals: sustaining investment and growth in the Chinese economy while asserting a confident leadership role in Asia and beyond. Clearly driven by China’s ambitious national domestic and foreign policies, the OBOR initiative is nevertheless of such historically unprecedented scale and scope that it must inevitably have long-term geopolitical implications for the study and conduct of world politics.

Taking the debate over China’s motivation as a starting point, this RC-41 (Geopolitics) panel will address the geopolitical underpinnings, dynamics and likely consequences of China’s “One Belt, One Road” initiative.  Papers addressing any of the following and related questions are welcome: What does China aim to achieve by OBOR? How could the initiative re-shape the Eurasian regional balance of power?  What impact will it have on global politics? Not least, what theoretical insights might the initiative offer students of international relations, and of Integration Theory in particular?

Convenor:         Aharon Klieman

Co-Chairs:        Tolga Demiryol, Aharon Klieman

Discussant:

 

Panel Proposal (4)

Energy and Economic Interdependence

Because energy supplies have always been vital for industrialization, and natural energy resources non-renewable, countries must therefore be constantly on the alert for fresh sources of supply. In today’s world, revenue from petroleum deposits and gas fields alone can suffice to make suppliers like those in the Persian Gulf independently wealthy, just as sophisticated technologies enable the excavation of previously inaccessible sources in remote areas such as the Arctic Circle. This combination of the relentless, competitive search for additional unexploited sources plus the wealth they generate connects the energy industry to the dominant geopolitical struggles of our time.

Conversely, the energy theme directly relates to economic cooperation and interdependence. The argument being that scarcity of energy resources compels exporters and importers alike into a relationship of mutual dependency. On the one hand, countries may view this economic interdependence positively, and in line with their political interests, as when energy collaboration paves the way and opens markets for broader trade. On the other hand, as frequently happens, the close link between energy and economic interdependence can prove negative, when, for instance, countries are reluctant to become overly dependent on foreign partners either because of security considerations or the suspected loss of sovereign control.

The Research Committee on Geopolitics (RC-41) invites papers addressing the strong and growing connection between geopolitics, energy and economic interdependence. Global or regional perspectives are welcome, as well as case studies of specific countries, their national energy policies and approaches to functional cooperation and interdependence.

Convenor:         Aharon Klieman

Co-Chairs:         Ziv  Rubinovitz, Aharon Klieman

Discussant:

15Aug 2017

“The New (Ab)Normal at Borders, AAG Annual Meeting New Orleans, USA, April 10 – 14 2018

The events of the past year demonstrated that the world entered a new period of flux and uncertainty at borders. While scholars have noted the expansion of walls, security infrastructure, migrant detention, and militarized enforcement for a decade or more, in 2017 actions that would have been unthinkable even a few years ago became the new normal. 

In Europe, the compassion for people on the move that existed in the early stages of the ‘migration crisis’ dissipated as countries built fences and walls and used force to prevent people from moving. Fortifying European spaces against migrants coincided with offshoring of migrant detention and deterrence, such as the EU deals with the troubled Libyan regime to detain people on the move in camps in Libya, despite evidence of the horrendous conditions, violence, and even slavery that occurs there. Italy also began to work with the Libyan coast guard to push boats back to Libya, rather than providing aid and shelter. Migrant aid boats were detained, and their operators were accused of aiding human traffickers. 

In the US, newly emboldened Immigration and Customs Agents targeted long-term residents with families and stable jobs for deportation. Plans were made to build new walls on the US-Mexico border, to hire thousands of additional immigration agents, and to cut legislated immigration quotas in half. In Southeast Asia, Malaysia and Thailand put in place new regulations to crack down on migrant labor through registration systems, while the persecuted Rohingya minority, the “most friendless people in the world,” were greeted by slammed doors seemingly wherever they sought refuge in the region. In 2017, in places across the globe, there was a global shift in mood towards nationalist policies and against the rights of people to move.

For the session, we are looking for papers that document and analyze the new (ab)normal at borders. What are the strategies and tactics the state, and non-state actors, use to prevent the movement of people? Where are the locations they are put into place? What impact do they have on people on the move and people who live in the ever widening borderlands? What do these changes tell us theoretically about borders, sovereignty, mobility and the state?

Potential session participants are should contact Reece Jones (reecej@hawaii.edu) and Corey Johnson (corey_johnson@uncg.edu) by 15 September (or earlier) to indicate your interest in participating in the sessions. 

02Aug 2017

2018 ECPR Joint Sessions of Workshops, Nicosia, Cyprus, April 10-14, 2018

The ECPR’s Joint Sessions of Workshops have a unique format that makes them a leading forum for substantive discussion and collaboration between scholars of political science. They are now recognised as one of the major highlights of the world's political science calendar. In 2018, the Joint Sessions will take place at the University of Nicosia in Cyprus.

Workshops are closed gatherings of 15-20 participants, which last for about five days, bringing together scholars from across the world and all career stages. Topics of discussion are precisely defined, and only scholars currently working in the Workshop's field, and with a Paper or research document for discussion, are invited to participate.  Participants may attend only one Workshop, and must stay for the duration of the event.  This format ensures intensive collaboration which often results not only in thorough critiques of the new research being presented, but in new research groups being formed to take that work forward.

The Joint Sessions of Workshops have been held in a different European city, at an ECPR Full-Member university, each spring since 1973. 

For further information please contact Marcia Taylor jointsessions@ecpr.eu / +44 (0) 1206 630045.

#ecprjs18

The call for Papers is now OPEN
Please submit your proposal via this form by Wednesday 6 December 2017.
Kindly note: Paper proposals sent directly to Workshop Directors will not be considered.

  
If you work or study at an ECPR member institution, you can apply for funding from 1 October 2017. We'll tell you more about it soon. If you're not sure whether your institution is a member, find out here.
 
For queries relating to funding, or for any general Joint Sessions enquiry, email event organiser Marcia Taylor.

14Apr 2017

Borders, Fences, Firewalls. Assessing the changing relationship of territory and institutions, Göttingen, Germany, October 19-20, 2017

Recent years have provided us with new images of a world in which persons can interact almost seamlessly regardless of distance. Various private and public institutions draw on changing means of communication and transport that seem to transcend particular spaces and times. Concepts such as liquid democracy suggest the revolutionary potential of digital media for our thinking about politics. At the same time, we are also witnessing an unbroken and even growing focus on securing territorial borders. Critiques of disembodied perspectives on norms and persons join with a new emphasis on space’s significance for human interactions, often described as the “spatial turn”. Are we moving past a territorially defined order – or do we see a return of border walls? Are territorial borders being complemented or replaced by other forms of boundaries, tighter firewalls and/or private fences?

This international conference will provide a forum for addressing the complex and shifting interrelations between territory and institutions, bringing these various perspectives into productive exchange. The general narrative is that a growing connection between territory and institutions characterizes modernity until the mid-20th century, when globalization began to disentangle the two. Is such a description adequate? To which extent does it represent a particular European perspective, and can it be countered or complemented by other histories? What normative claims result from the respective descriptions? What reactions do we see in different areas of society to tackle these developments, and what reactions might evolve in the future?

The conference will include keynotes by Prof. Margaret Moore (Queen’s University) and Prof. T. Alexander Aleinikoff (The New School).

CfP

13Feb 2017

IPSA International Conference Political Science in the Digital Age: Mapping Opportunities, Perils and Uncertainties, Hannover, December 4-6 2017

Call for Panels for Research Committees

IPSA International Conference

Political Science in the Digital Age:

Mapping Opportunities, Perils and Uncertainties

December 4-6 2017
Hannover, Germany

Program Chairs: Marianne Kneuer and Helen Milner

 

The International Political Science Association (IPSA) is organizing an international conference that will be held on 4-6 December 2017 in Hannover, Germany. Chaired by Marianne Kneuer and Helen Milner, the conference will take place in Hannover’s spectacular Palace of Herrenhausen, surrounded by gardens that date back to the Baroque period. You can find more information on the event website https://hannover2017.ipsa.org/

The conference, entitled “Political Science in the Digital Age: Mapping Opportunities, Perils and Uncertainties”, provides the opportunity for a reflection on the discipline and one of its most relevant challenges, namely digitalization. The conference aims to bring together officials and members of the national Political Science Associations of IPSA and members the IPSA Research Committees in order to further develop networks and cooperation among these groups. The conference will also be a platform for addressing challenges as well as developing ideas for future research within IPSA.

Digitalization - or the integration of digital technologies into all aspects of everyday life - is the most dominant signature of the 21th century so far. Society, economy and politics are all affected by a multitude of implications that digitalization embodies. The Internet and social media have not only multiplied the communications channels in an unprecedented way but also have had a substantial impact on the interaction between politicians and citizens as well as all societal actors. Formerly more or less institutionalized channels of communication between on one side politicians and media, on the other side media and citizens have been replaced by a myriad of decentralized networks. While actors in politics and media formerly steered communications flows, digital-based networks now tend to have unpredictable effects in their scope, scale, and therefore in their impact. Opinion-building and decision-making processes are increasingly influenced by the functional logic of digital media; factors like the acceleration and synchronicity of information, the multimodality of the messages, and the interactivity and connectedness of providers and users all are reshaping social, economic, and political life. This is true for domestic as well as for international politics. The dissolution of communicative boundaries creates a new transnational space of connectedness on all levels of agency. In consequence, ideas, norms and values spread more easily and rapidly; in the same way the diffusion of policies, institutional elements, and governance techniques are facilitated.

For the discipline of Political Science the digital revolution implies at least two challenges: On one side, the subjects of research are concerned: national as well as international actors, communication between government and societal actors, the relation between politicians and citizens, aspects of political economy, aspects of regulation, e-governance and net politics, diplomacy cybercrimes and cyberwar, etc. On the other side, digitalization influences the academic sphere not only in terms of research but also in terms of teaching, learning and publishing. This latter challenge includes the more practical dimension involving political consulting and policy recommendations.

It is important that Political Scientists reflect on the current and future implications that the digital age holds for the discipline. The aim of the conference is to examine these challenges adopting a broad approach. Such a broad perspective will enable examining how digital media transforms the relations and communications between international, governmental and societal actors. The conference will comprehend five thematic sessions:

 

Sessions

Political Theory

How do digital media influence the public sphere? Do they open new spaces for deliberation? What implications does it have for politics if the boundary between public and private increasingly becomes blurred? Where are the boundaries between gains of freedom and loss of privacy? What does it imply about political discourse now that citizens have become content providers? Does the openness of information foster more knowledge or does it facilitate the ‘transparent citizen’?

 

Comparative Politics

How will the digital revolution affect politics? How do politicians use digital media? What changes can we observe in electoral campaigning and elections themselves? And how do citizens use digital media? Can citizens’ online participation fill the ‘participation gap’ and enhance legitimacy? Or are emerging new participatory divides? Does the digital revolution help spread knowledge and/or allow ever more elite control of information provision? Which digital divides can be identified and which effects do they have on opinion-building and decision-making? Is the Internet prone to enhance inclusion or does is accentuate exclusiveness among people? Do e-voting, e-referenda, etc. provide new opportunities for decision-making and political accountability? How do authoritarian regimes exploit digital media? Does digitalization help keep them in power or provide means to push for more democracy?

 

International Relations and World Economy

How do digital communications and networks affect relations among countries? Is the digital revolution an asset or rather a stress factor for international politics? What consequences does this new ‘openness’ have for international diplomacy? Is the digital revolution a source of progress or rather an obstacle for international cooperation? What impact will cyberwarfare have? Does this represent a new domain of conflict among countries, which is more dangerous?  What are the implications of the fact that the providers of communication networks and the owners of massive amounts of personal data like Google and Facebook at the same time are firms? Will the digital revolution accelerate economic growth or retard it? Will it increase inequality given the “digital divide” among countries, or help alleviate it? Will it increase the probability of economic crises as it speeds up communications and compounds agents’ reactions? And does the availability of ever more data available to ever more people at ever faster speeds provide more benefits or more dangers?

 

Methods

Which new methodological tools have been facilitated by digital technology? And which new methodological approaches or tools do we need to capture online communication and interaction (e.g., online content analysis)? Which new ways of data collection are available, and what are the implications for researchers for data protection? Do we need new theories and concepts? How should studies be tailored to capture the empirical implications of digitalization in the various subdisciplines?

 

Teaching and Learning

Which new opportunities provides digitalization for teaching (see e.g. MOOCs)? Which teaching formats can combine digital and analogue approaches? Who can benefit from e-learning and how? How can citizenship education benefit from digital modes of knowledge and value building?

 

Proposal Procedure

The conference consists of different formats of panels. The Program Chairs offer the Research Committees to organize panels in the exposed Sessions. The slots for each panel are 90 minutes. Please submit panel proposals before April, 15 2017.

What to include in your panel proposal:

1)      The Session where you want to be allocated.

2)      Title of the panel.

3)      Chair and Co-Chair, discussant for the panel (names, affiliation, mailing address).

4)      Abstracts of 4-5 paper givers (names, affiliation, mailing address).

Please send the proposals to hannover2017@ipsa.org

Note that every participant must be IPSA members.

 

Marianne Kneuer and Helen Milner

Program Chairs

13Feb 2017

3rd International Conference Cultures, Hopes and Conflicts. The Mediterranean between Land and Sea 26-28 September 2017 University of Salerno, Italy

3rd International Conference 

 

Cultures, Hopes and Conflicts. The Mediterranean between Land and Sea 

26-28 September 2017 University of Salerno, Italy

 

The International Centre for Studies and Research (ICSR) Mediterranean Knowledge and the Consortium Mediterranean Worlds (MedWorlds) invite papers to be presented at the 3rd International Conference ICSR Mediterranean Knowledge / 8th International Conference MedWorlds to be held at the University of Salerno, Italy from 26 to 28 September 2017. 

 

CALL FOR PAPERS The Conference Cultures, Hopes and Conflicts. The Mediterranean between Land and Sea, jointly organized by the ICSR Mediterranean Knowledge and the Consortium Mediterranean Worlds, aims to collect contributions that address the most important questions related to the Mediterranean Basin from the point of view of different social and human sciences. The Mediterranean is a sea of cultures, as its shore witnessed the dawn of knowledge: from historiography to philosophy, from natural sciences to political sciences. The Mediterranean, furthermore, is a nexus of civilizations and ethnicities, which have constantly interacted through clashes and peaceful encounters. Indeed, the Mediterranean has always been a meeting place between East and West; this is even more true today as the Mediterranean seems to have become more fragmented and divided between different “worlds”: the secular Western Europe, the Arab-Islamic North Africa and Middle East, the orthodox Christianity of Greece and other Balkan countries, the Jewish culture of Israel, to mention only the most important. However, one should consider that each of these “worlds” reveals in its internal ethnical, territorial, and social tensions, which adds up to the richness and the peculiarity of the «Mare nostrum». The Mediterranean, furthermore, is also a sea of hopes: the hopes of hundreds of thousands of migrants who desperately try to cross the sea, on the run from hunger and conflicts; the hope of a fair and lasting peace for those who live in countries affected by civil wars and ethno-religious clashes.

 

The Conference is open to papers that address the broader questions concerning the Mediterranean. More specifically, we aim to develop a reflection on the following topics:

- The migratory phenomena, which have historically characterized the Mediterranean since antiquity to modern era, as approached from the point of view of both the countries of origin and destination;

- Encounters and clashes among different civilizations and cultures in the Mediterranean world from the so-called Fall of the Roman empire to the present day;

- The Mediterranean and its relations with non-Mediterranean worlds, in terms of diplomatic, cultural and economic relations (with attention to the recent phenomenon of globalization);

- The political upheavals that have affected the Arab world in recent years;

- The phenomenon of terrorism within the relations between East and West;

- The political, economic and social impact of the great Recession on different Mediterranean countries;

- The impact of knowledge on the development of the Mediterranean area and the modes of its dissemination from ancient times to contemporary era.

 

Insofar as the contribution proposes an original and innovative analytical approach, they can focus on individual topics, understood as case-studies, or more general interpretations, The panels of the Conference will be crafted based on the accepted abstracts.

 

If you are interested into giving a paper you are required to send an abstract in English or Italian of your proposed contribution (maximum length 350 words) and a short biographical note summarizing your scientific activity (maximum length 150 worlds) to the following e-mail address: info@ mediterraneanknowledge.org, with the tag [ICSR Mediterranean Knowledge / MedWorlds Conference 2017]. Each participant will be allowed to deliver only one paper. All papers must be delivered in English or Italian and in person by the author of the paper. We cannot accommodate speakers wishing to present using Skype (or similar), or proxy presentations.

 

Language of the Conference will be English.

 

DEADLINES 

Launch of call: January 2017 Deadline for abstracts: 31 March 2017 Communication on the acceptance of contributions: 20 April 2017 Final program: May 2017 Paper submission (to be considered for publication): 15 December 2017 Paper selection for publication: February 2018 For additional information please contact us through conference’s email: info@mediterraneanknowledge. org 

29Oct 2015

Borders, Walls, Violence - CFP - Montreal 2016

Borders, Walls and Violence
Costs and Alternatives to Border Fencing 

International conference organized by the Raoul Dandurand Chair at the University of Quebec at Montreal

June 1-3, 2016
Montreal, Quebec, Canada

More border walls and border fences are being built every year all across the world. Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, Morocco, and Tunisia are among the latest to announce yet another border fence. Twenty-five years ago it was believed that the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reconfiguration of international relations would open an age of globalization in which States would become obsolete, ushering in a world without borders. In the wake of 9/11, however, borders came back in light, new borders were created and new border walls erected. In the wake of the Arab Spring, came even more border barriers and walls, symbols that were thought to have disappeared with the collapse of the bipolar international system. Today, they reinforce borderlines the world over, transforming both soft and semi-permeable borders alike into sealed, exclusionary hard borders. Walls are symbols of identity reaffirmation, markers of State sovereignty, instruments of dissociation, locus of a growing violence.

 

Fields: Political Science, Geography, Anthropology, Sociology, Law, Economics, Art, Design, Biology, Environmental studies, Area Studies, Gender studies, Zoology, Medical studies (this list is intended to be suggestive rather than inclusive).

Organizers/Scientific Committee: Élisabeth Vallet (Raoul-Dandurand Chair UQAM – Canada), Anne-Laure Amilhat-Szary (Geography, Université Joseph Fourier – France), Emmanuel Brunet-Jailly (Borders in Globalization, University of Victoria – Canada), Reece Jones (Geography, University of Hawaii – USA), Kenneth D. Madsen (Geography, The Ohio State University – USA), Said Saddiki (Law, Al-Ain University of Science and Technology – UAE)

Students are especially encouraged to submit a proposal.

Conference Theme:
This conference seeks to understand border walls as a global trend in International Relations. As a growing number of walls are being built along international borders and as migrants and inhabitants of those borderlands are experimenting more and more violence, we seek to understand the local perspectives and views on border fences and replace it in a multiscalar perspectives in order to see if there are viable alternatives to fences and security approaches. How much do they cost (both monetary and socially) ? How well do they work ? How do they affect borderlands? How are security discourses shaping the landscape to build border walls ?

Context
In a globalized world in which interdependence is viewed as a necessity and the norm, border walls appear to be things of the past, obsolete manifestations of the institution of State. Nevertheless, walls have been spreading steadily since the end of the Cold War. And the boom in wall-building after the attack on the World Trade Center actually has its roots, at least attitudinally, in the pre-9/11 period, for the walls derive not from a specific fear of terrorism but rather from the global insecurity bred by globalization. Paradoxically, in a security-conscious world, globalization has led not to the elimination of borders but rather to the recomposition of territory and the erection of new “ramparts”. The wall has become a solution to the quest for security of the State, the boundaries of which never truly disappeared, a solution sublimated through an increasingly security-centric discourse in the wake of 9/11, and further fueled by post-Arab Spring events.

Themes

Participants are encouraged to critically examine the role of border walls in security discourses and in the framing of the local political and sociological landscape to consider some of the following themes:


Theme 1. Impacts of border walls
Theme 2. Legal aspects of border walls
Theme 3. Costs and economies of border walls
Theme 4. Violence of border walls
Theme 5. Alternatives to border walls
Deadline for abstract submission: October 5, 2015
(for both panel sessions and poster sessions)

Please note that papers may be considered for both panel sessions AND poster sessions.
Proposal: please include the following information (300 words)
·        Name of authors/contributors
·         Institutional affiliations, titles
·        Contact: telephone, fax, email, mailing address
·        Title of the paper
·        Abstract: Subject, empirical frame, analytical approach, theme (approx. 300 words)
Languages: Proposals can be submitted in French, English and Spanish. However the conference will be held in English and French.

Conference Dates and Deadlines:

      • Oct.5, 2015 : deadline for submitting abstracts and proposals
      • Dec.2015 : proposals selection and notification sent to presenters
      • March 31, 2015 : submission of papers to discussants
      • May 2016 (25-26 to be confirmed) : Conference to be held in Montreal.

Send your proposals via email in Word format to Élisabeth Vallet at UQAM:BordersandWalls@gmail.com

11Oct 2015

International Conference "The Return of Geopolitics", University of Arizona, April 4-5, 2016

Call for Papers

 

 

The Return of Geopolitics

 

University of Arizona, April 4-5, 2016

 

An International Conference Sponsored by the World Society Foundation

 

 

DEADLINE FOR PROPOSALS IS NOVEMBER 15, 2015

 

The forces of globalization seem to be giving way to those of geopolitics. And while it is still important to focus on what is common to the global community, we are also compelled to try and understand those shifting tectonic forces that are drawing the world back to geopolitical tensions  epitomized by the Russian annexation of Crimea and support for pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, the continuing disorder and migrant crises in the Middle East, and disputes over islands, atolls, and air space in the South and East China Seas.  There are, obviously, many other examples.

 

Return of Geopolitics seeks to provide a forum for experts from different countries and disciplines to meet, exchange views, and assess the extent to which today’s geopolitical resurrection of boundaries has eclipsed yesterday’s de-bordering globalization processes.  The conference will also consider the implications of this rise of geopolitics for future international tension, conflict, and war.

 

We welcome papers related – but not restricted to – the following topics:

·       The Geopolitics of the EU’s Economic Crisis
·       The Migrant Crisis in Europe
·       The rise right-wing parties in Europe
·       Hegemonic Decline and Emerging Conflicts
·       New Directions in Geopolitical Thinking/Theory
·       Russia and the Ukraine
·       German and Russian Relations Today and Tomorrow
·       The Geopolitics of Disorder in the Middle East
·       Iran and Saudi Rivalry
·       The Islamic State (ISIS, ISIS, Daech)
·       Turkey’s Geopolitics
·       Iran and Nuclear Weapons
·       The US and the Middle East
·       Russia and Syria
·       Geopolitics of the Syrian Civil War 
·       China and the US:  Competition and Cooperation
·       Russia and China:  Competition and Cooperation
·       Maritime claims in the South China Sea
·       Re-Militarization of Japan
·       North Korea and East Asian Politics
·       The Future of War:  Is Symmetric War Coming Back?
·       The Geopolitics of Cyber Security
·       China’s New Silk and Maritime Roads
·       Conflicts and competition in the Indo-Pacific
·       The Geopolitics and the Environment
·       China vs. US trade:  RCEP vs. TPP

 

Venue: The Conference will be held April 4-5, 2016 at the University of Arizona (USA).

 

Conference Format:  The Return of Geopolitics conference is spread over two days, Monday, April 4th and Tuesday, April 5th.

 

Travel Grants: The World Society Foundation will provide financial support for travel to and from the conference.  Hotel accommodations will be for three nights (Sunday to Wednesday).  It is incumbent on those who wish to stay longer (earlier or later) to make their own hotel arrangements.

 

Abstract Submissions will take the form of a 1-page abstract.  Send your abstract via email to: geopoliticsconf@gmail.com.  The deadline for abstract submission is November 15, 2015.  Authors of accepted abstracts will be invited to elaborate their proposal into a draft paper (of 15-20 pages).  Notification of acceptance or refusal of abstracts will be given end of November 2015.  The deadline for delivering the draft paper is January 15, 2016.  The authors of the most outstanding papers will be invited to the conference. Notification of selected papers will be given end of January 2016.

 

Conference Publication:  Outstanding conference papers will be published in a conference volume.  Author’s full papers are required after the conference if they want them to be considered for the conference publication.

 

Organizing Committee: Albert J. Bergesen (University of Arizona), Sallie Marston (University of Arizona), Christian Suter (University of Neuchâtel), Thomas J. Volgy (University of Arizona).

 

Conference Sponsorship: The main sponsor of the conference is the World Society Foundation (Zurich, Switzerland). In addition the conference is supported by the International Studies Association and the School of Sociology, University of Arizona.  For more information on the World Society Foundation and its activities, please check out the web site: http://www.worldsociety.ch/.

23Sep 2014

IGU Moscow Regional Conference, 17-21.08.15

Call for Session Proposals for the IGU Commission on Political Geography

IGU Regional Conference in Moscow, Russia 17-22 August 2015 http://www.igu2015.ru/

Conference theme: Geography, Culture and Society for Our Future Earth

The Regional Conference of the International Geographer's Union (IGU) will take place in Moscow next summer for the third time since the international Geographical Congress of 1976, when over 2,000 participants from around the world gathered in the Soviet capital for lectures, discussions, workshops and excursions. The pace of global change has since accelerated in directions that once seemed unimaginable. The 2015 Regional Conference will be an opportunity to reflect upon these changes as well as the future course of human civilisation in relation to pressing socio-environmental challenges.

IGU Moscow 2015 will focus on five main themes: Urban Environment, Polar Studies, Climate Change, Global Conflict and Regional Sustainability.

The organising committee for the International Geographical Union Regional Conference in Moscow is accepting proposals for sessions until 15 October 2014. Sessions can take the following forms: 1) plenary sessions, 2) commission and task force sessions, 3) thematic sessions.

Thematic sessions may be organized by conference participants to gather experts specialized in a particular research topic in order to discuss selected research issues. You may also organize workshops and special sessions for young scholars and university teachers, school geography teachers and students. When submitting a session proposal, please include the session type, name of the proposed chairperson, and a brief paragraph to outline the topic.

If you are interested in organizing a thematic (or other) session, you will need to complete a session proposal form (see attached or click on this link: http://www.igu2015.ru/index.php?r=36) and submit it to the organisers by 15 October 2014.

The IGU Commission on Political Geography would like to invite you to submit a proposal under the Commission, or jointly with another Commission. As the proposals for Commission sessions are to be ultimately vetted by the relevant Commission, please contact the Commission to coordinate efforts. Discuss your proposal with and/or submit your form to Virginie Mamadouh at v.d.mamadouh@uva.nl and/or Takashi Yamazaki at yamataka@lit.osaka-cu.ac.jp , as early as possible and no later than Friday 10 October.

For more information about the IGU 2015 Regional Conference, please refer to the conference website: http://www.igu2015.ru

IGU-CPG also sponsors a post-conference in Kaliningrad. Details will follow soon.

03Aug 2014

Call for Papers: Geopolitical Economy

Geopolitical Economy: States, Economies and the Capitalist World Order

Research in Political Economy, Volume 30 (2015)

Edited by Radhika Desai

Submission deadline: 1 October 2014

Proposal Acceptances: 15 October 2014

Final papers due: 1 December 2014

This issue advances geopolitical economy as a new approach to understanding the evolution of the capitalist world order and its 21st century form of multipolarity. Neither can be explained by recently dominant approaches such as ‘U.S. hegemony’ or ‘globalization’: they treat the world economy as a seamless whole in which either no state matters or only one does. Today’s ‘BRICs’ and ‘emerging economies’ are only the latest instances of state-led or combined development. Such development has a long history of repeatedly challenging the unevenness of capitalism and the international division of labour it created. It is this dialectic of uneven and combined development, not markets or imperialism, that spread productive capacity around the world. It also ensured that the ‘hegemony’ of the UK would end and that of the US would never be realised, despite repeated attempts.

In geopolitical economy the role of states in developing and regulating economies is central. States’ mutual interactions – conflicting cooperative and collusive – and the international order they create are understood in terms of the character of national economies, their contradictions, and the international possibilities and imperatives they generate. Geopolitical economy as an approach to the world order is clearly anticipated in classical political economy up to and including Marx and Engels, though this becomes clearest if we take a fresh look at it untainted by neoclassical economics and associated discourses of neoliberalism, globalization and hegemony. Further intellectual resources for geopolitical economy include the classical theories of imperialism, the theory of uneven and combin
ed development as well as 20th century critics of neoclassical economics such as Keynes, Kalecki, Polanyi, Minsky and the developmental state tradition going back to List and Serra and forward to Amsden and Wade.

Papers that investigate any aspect of the world order, its theories or its historiography – whether contemporary or historical – in a way that relates to geopolitical economy as described above, or poses important objections to it, are welcome for consideration.

A non-exhaustive list of potential themes would include:

The international relations of early capitalism

Capitalism, imperialism and imperialist competition

Capitalism and the state
Combined development, capitalist and non-capitalist
Wars in Uneven and Combined development
International economic governance
International relations and international political economy theories in light of geopolitical economy
Development theory, the demand for a NIEO and the ‘rise of the rest’
The BRICs and emerging economies as combined development
Challenges to states’ economic roles: sources, strength, implications for geopolitical economy
Proposals should be sent to Radhika.Desai@umanitoba.ca by 1 October 2014
Proposal Acceptances will be sent out by 15 October 2014. Papers will be due by 1 December 2014.

- See more at: http://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/products/books/call_for_papers.htm?id=5364#sthash.kfgrg3wY.dpuf

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