Call for panels and papers

Modes and forms of insurgency in the contemporary world: an inquiry into the causes and consequences of non-state governance and their relevance to current world affairs

Section of the Conference: The Worlds of Violence

9th Pan-European Conference on International Relations

Wednesday 23-Saturday 26 September 2015, Giardini Naxos, Sicily, Italy

Organised by the European International Studies Association and the University of Catania

Chairs:

Abel Polese

(Tallinn University), [log in to unmask]

Donnacha Ó Beacháin

(Dublin City University) [log in to unmask]

Recent events in Ukraine and Syria are only the ultimate expression of a tendency that we have observed, with regularity and in very different regions of the world. Although under-researched thus far insurgency has emerged as a major phenomenon of recent years. In this panel we understand insurgency in a dynamic manner and as a name for several points on a spectrum. The most visible expressions of insurgency are, in our view, the more or less successful attempts to separate administratively from a state as has occurred in Georgia, Sudan and more recently in Ukraine. There are, however, intermediate situations leading to more autonomy, the emergence of local or sub-national forces claiming control over either a territory, a sector, or challenging the competence of a state in a given field (economy, police, judiciary) that this section seeks to explore.

The aim of this section is to explore economic, political and judicial aspects of insurgency, here intended as a multi-faceted phenomenon affecting one or more competencies of a state. Our goal is to establish a dialogue based not only on a variety of geographically diverse case studies but also to concentrate on a particular aspect of insurgency and, equally important, to study pre-insurgency situation or situations that might, or might not, lead to insurgency such as insubordination in a particular field (informal governance, security or networks progressively, but still marginally, taking over state competencies in a given region)

We would welcome submissions that may relate (but are not limited) to the following themes

Insurgent governance in the former USSR and the role of Russia in the region

Informality and forms of pre and micro insurgency

Winners and losers of insurgency: warlords and fear-based organizations

Other possible topics for papers might include, but are not confined to:

Business development and the economic policy of insurgency
Proxy militias, non-traditional warfare and their role in foreign policy
The relationship between social capital, civil society and insurgency

Please send an abstract, indicating which panel you intend to participate in, and a short bio to:

Abel Polese

(Tallinn University), [log in to unmask]

Donnacha Ó Beacháin

(Dublin City University) [log in to unmask]

You will also need to register and submit your abstract through the conference’s online system

More details about the conference, including travel, accommodation, venue, and location details can be found at

http://www.paneuropeanconference.org/2015/spage.php?s=9

The deadline for receiving abstracts is January 15th, 2015.