CfP: Unsettled Europe: Refugees,states and politics in Southeastern Europe. Graz, 27-29 January 2017

[Roma Virtual Network]

Call for Papers 

Unsettled Europe: Refugees, states and politics in Southeastern Europe

Center for Southeast European Studies 

University of Graz 

27-29 January 2017 

Since 2015, more than a million of refugees made their way from the war-torn Middle East to central and northern Europe through the countries of Southeast Europe. Some stayed, and probably more are expected to come. Unforeseen as it was, this movement of people seems to be shaking the very foundations of the European Union, from mutual solidarity and ever-deeper integration to the enlargement process. The case of Southeast Europe is a particularly salient, as it was here that many of the big issues related to migration crystallize. Economic migration from the Balkans had already triggered securitizing policy responses from EU member-states, yet with the influx of refugees from Syria, Iraq and other countries of the Middle East, these have been aggravated. From the temporary closure of borders and the suspension of Schengen to the contested EU-Turkey refugee agreement, the EU has failed to come up with a adequate response to the challenge, while it also lost credibility as a normative power.  

Southeast European countries who have found themselves on the main refugee routes are facing problems of their own: From the challenges of an erratic political and socio-economic transition to democratic backsliding, and from looming economic crisis to the slow and arduous process of EU integration, Southeast European countries were caught all but unprepared for the task of developing policy responses that would treat with the refugees humanely and effectively.

The main goal of the conference is to map the political and societal terrains, which the refugee influx of 2015 created in Southeast Europe, including Greece, Turkey and Cyprus. In particular, we are interested in four areas of inquiry: How are these countries going to be affected by the presence and the settlement of refugee communities? How will local Muslim communities be affected by mostly Muslim refugees? In short, in what way will the region change due to the influx and partial settlement of refugees from the Middle East?

The larger question we would like to explore through the light of these analyses is what kind of future lies ahead for Europe and its southeastern neighborhood. Will the refugee influx trigger a shift of the European Union to a more globally oriented regional actor, or will it increase tendencies of isolationism? Will it help to foster European integration or will it reinforce the nation-state?

These are some of the questions we will be asking at the annual conference at the Centre for Southeast European Studies, University of Graz from 27-29 January 2017. We invite proposals from scholars of all social sciences and particularly encourage interdisciplinary work. 

Please send your abstracts (max. 300 words) to CSEE...@uni-graz.at by the 20th of September 2016 along with a 300 word CV as well as a list of of publications. Accepted participants will be notified by the 30th of September. We will expect to receive your draft papers of 6,000-8,000 by the 15th of December 2016. 

We are planning to structure the conference around the following thematic clusters. Please indicate in your application, which of the below theme would be most appropriate for your paper:

1. Mapping the refugee crisis in Southeast Europe: Geography, demography and politics

2. Responses by state actors in Southeast Europe and the EU 

3. Responses by civil society 

4. Euro-scepticism, nationalistic and xenophobic movements 

5. Security related issues

6. Economic and demographic dimension

7. Muslim communities

8. Changing EU perspectives on Southeast Europe: Security and stability instead of democracy and integration

9. EU futures: The refugee influx as impossible challenge or catalyst for the European Union?

A selection of the best contributions will be published in a special issue of the journal Contemporary Southeastern Europe.

The Centre of Southeast European Studies will cover accommodation and reasonable transport costs of selected participants. The funding will be conditional on the submission of the draft paper by the mid December deadline.