Integration vs. Disintegration? Ceecs towards European Union and its Challenges

Conference venue: Wrocław, Poland
Period: 14 – 15 September 2017
Deadline for submitting Panel proposal: 30th of April, 2017
The closing deadline for PAPER PROPOSALS is midnight CET, 31st of May, 2017

“Europe is a continent of extraordinary variety and diversity geographically, ethnically, nationally, culturally, economically and politically. Yet at the same time all its parts are and always have been so deeply linked by their destiny that this continent can accurately be described as a single albeit complex political entity. Anything crucial in any area of human endeavour occurring anywhere in Europe always has had both direct and indirect consequences for our continent as a whole. The history of Europe is, in fact, the history of a constant searching and reshaping of its internal structures and the relationship of its parts. Today, if we talk about a single European civilization or about common European values, history, traditions, and destiny, what we are referring to is more the fruit of this tendency toward integration than its cause.”
Václav Havel, Speech in European Parliament, Strasbourg , March 8, 1994

It is beyond any doubt that the European Union has been facing a historically unprecedented series of crises, both external and internal. Slow recovery from the economic crisis, possible and probable Brexit, influx of refugees and immigrants, international terrorism, rebirth of Russian imperialism and war in Ukraine, war in Syria, political turmoil in Southern Neighbourhood countries – all these challenges raise the question about the future of the European integration. Some answer with projects of an ever closer union and federalisation of the EU. Some say that the European Union as a supranational project does not function properly anymore and it needs to devolve more power to its member states. Others, in turn, state that we need to combine both approaches and go further into the direction of multi speed-Europe. Whatever the answer, it is clear that we are facing currently two contradicting tendencies in the EU: integration and disintegration.

In recent time, due to the turmoil within the whole of the EU and political changes in Central and Eastern European (CEE) members of the EU, our region seems to be gaining more political traction. Efforts are made to invigorate the political cooperation within the CEE region, most notably within the Visegrad Group. On the other hand, scepticism is still widespread as to whether CEE itself is a real, well-grounded political entity or rather just a loose cluster of countries, with an ad hoc and temporarily created community of interests. It is high time for serious and conclusive discussions about the future of the European Union, and CEE region is a very important element of the EU. Therefore we are offering our academic community a opportunity to meet and reflect on the major issues of our region and continent. We are convinced that amidst political conflicts sweeping through the EU, there is an urgent need for substantive discussions and recommendations from the academic community.
Every crisis poses a challenge. But at the same time, every problem can be a opportunity for a necessary reform and improvement, helping to alleviate burning issues.

Therefore, we are inviting contributions covering the following broad and interdisciplinary range of topics:

The above list is not exhaustive and the prospective applicants are encouraged to respond to the conference’s general theme by proposing a specific topics of their own. Also, the conference will be open for proposal addressing the current political problems in CEE countries. The conference is open for researchers from all the countries who are interested in the above-delineated spectrum of issues.

A symposium „Integration as a Research Category of Political Theory”, devoted to scholarly achievements of the eminent Polish political scientist Professor Andrzej Jabłoński, will held parallel to the conference.
The academic program for the conference will be organised in the usual format of panels. Each panel should comprise four to five papers plus the chair. We welcome individual paper proposals and / or complete panel proposals as well.

The tasks for a panel chair include:
• proposing a panel around a theme;
• maintaining a balance between established and new-coming scholars, as well as postgraduate students;
• maintaining a balance with regard to the national affiliation of panellist (up to two panel members from the same national political science association)

Proposals for panels should include:
• Name, institutional affiliation and email address of the proposed panel chair.
• Proposed panel title and summary of its theme (approx. 250 words + up to 5 keywords).
• Tentative indication of possible panellists including their names, institutional affiliation and email addresses

The closing date for PANEL PROPOSALS is midnight CET, 30th of April, 2017.

Proposal for papers should include:
• Name, institutional affiliation and email address of the proposed contributor.
• Proposed paper title and summary of its theme (approx. 250 words + up to 5 keywords).
• Proposed panel where the paper could be placed (if known)

The closing deadline for PAPER PROPOSALS is midnight CET, 31st of May, 2017.

The proposals should be sent to: political.science@uwr.edu.pl.