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 Printer-friendly versionThe first Joint Conference organised by the International Political Science Association (IPSA) and the European Consortium of Political Research (ECPR) will explore the continuing relevance of the international North-South divide. The Conference will be organised into three broad Themes.
THEME 1: CHANGING PATTERNS OF IR/REGIONAL INTEGRATION For informal enquiries contact the Theme Convenors: Dirk Nabers (nabers@frieden.uni-kiel.de) and Miriam Prys (prys@giga-hamburg.de) In recent decades, traditional patterns of international relations have been drastically influenced by various aspects of the globalisation process, including: the rise of new regional and global powers such as Brazil, China, India and South Africa; an increasing transnationalisation of international politics; and new issues such as terrorism, global warming, migration and changes in the international division of labour on the agenda. These changing patterns have led to increased cohesion in regional interaction, while the rapid development of various cross-border activities has coincided with an intensification of social problems beyond the control of nation states. The theme will address these complex dynamics, focussing on structures and processes at the level of foreign policies as well as regional and global governance. Sections and panels are therefore invited which address any aspects of these themes. Sections in Theme 1 Conflict, Violence, and Security in a Regional Context THEME 2: POLITICAL REGIMES, DEMOCRATIC CONSOLIDATION AND THE QUALITY OF DEMOCRACY For informal enquiries contact the Theme Convenor: Thomas Poguntke (poguntke@phil.uni-duesseldorf.de) While the number of democracies has grown considerably over the past decades, academic analysis is far from agreeing on what constitutes the minimum requirements for democratic governance. This is intimately related to debates over the quality of democracy, the choice of the most suitable institutional configurations and the role that intermediary actors, such as political parties, interest organizations and NGOs, can play in the process of democratic consolidation. Moreover, many countries have undergone substantial institutional change following transition to democracy. At the same time, established democracies have experienced shifts of power between levels of governance as well as between the roles played by individual and collective actors. This opens up multiple comparative perspectives. Sections and panels which address any aspects of these themes are welcome, especially those which propose to compare, across time and nations, different parts of the world. Sections in Theme 2 Comparative and National Perspectives on the Quality of Democracy THEME 3: ECONOMIC TRENDS AND POLITICAL, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL CHANGES For informal enquiries contact the Theme Convenors: Rachel Meneguello (racael@unicamp.br) and Lucio Rennó (luciorenno@unb.br) Global processes of change cover the economic and financial integration of emerging market polities into the world system as well as having political and cultural implications. They refer not only to the speed with which information, money and commodities travel around the world but also to new economic, political and cultural effects. The processes highlight the limits of state-based policy making and problem-solving, thereby changing the perceptions that shape domestic as well as transnational political and economic cultures. While integration into global markets go hand in hand with democratization in some countries, in others such global processes remain dissociated from or poorly related to democracy. New political uncertainties were generated by the response of national and regional authorities in the context of the 2008-2009 crises. Economic and social changes have, in some cases, produced despair and given way to the movement of illegal labor across boundaries. This labor is sometimes seen as economically threatening and culturally inferior and the cause of new ethnic and political conflicts. For historical or cultural reasons, some societies may possess attitudinal and institutional frameworks that facilitate coping with the challenges, while others may not. Nowadays most countries face these challenges, as people adopt new or forgotten origins, party identities and patterns of political culture. To what extent do changes in the political realm brought about by democratization, as a global process, affect the reordering of North-South relations? To what extent does the access of newcomers to national systems of social protection, welfare, and justice reflect commitments to extend political rights and obligations inseparable from citizenship? How does the emergence of hybrid forms of democracy and “electoral authoritarianism” reflect changes in the institutional frameworks and regulatory mechanisms that aim to improve global governance? The theme addresses these complex dynamics, focussing on actors, institutions and processes, and sections and panels focusing on these issues are welcome.
Sections in Theme 3 Development and Institutions in Latin America:capitalist trajectories in North/South Relations |
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