CfP: Central and South-Eastern Europe as a Space of Rivalry Between Powers – History and the Present
Invitation
The Central European Commission of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences
Department of International Relations and Foreign Policy
of the Institute of Political Science and International Relations
of the Jagiellonian University
and
Commission of the Contemporary History of the Slavs
invite you to a scientific conference titled
Central and South-Eastern Europe as a Space of Rivalry Between Powers – History and the Present
which will be held on November 23 – 24, 2023
in Krakow
Subject and objectives of the conference
The concept of Central Europe remains a subject of debate for a number of reasons. Firstly, its territorial scope is continuously changing, along with the change of the borders in Europe. Apart from this, the question arises about the criteria for distinguishing this region: cultural, ethnic, religious, economic, and political. During the Cold War, the concept disappeared altogether in favor of the terms Eastern Europe-Western Europe, covering territories separated by the border of influence of the Western and Eastern bloc of states. Due to the conventional nature of the concept of Central Europe, the term Southeast Europe was also applied. Thus, the region stretching from the Baltic Sea to the Aegean Sea and from the Adriatic Sea to the Black Sea remains of interest. What Central Europe was and is should be one of the topics of the conference.
Another issue remains the problem of the existence of distinctiveness, or identity, of this region as a whole. Beyond political fragmentation, are there factors that distinguish the region, or is it merely a “gray area” subject to economic and political expansion by stronger regional or global players? If the countries of the region have no common references, is effective regional cooperation possible, or will the region gradually disappear into a space, on the one hand constructed by the European Union, and on the other by Russia expanding its economic and political influence? In this regard, it seems necessary to review the various forms of cooperation among the countries of the region; the territorial development of the European Union; Russian policy in the region.
The region’s past tends to think of it as a space of interest or rivalry primarily between Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia, Turkey, Italy and other European states. However, there should be a moving away from this pattern and a look at the region in the light of global politics, the involvement of the United States, China, Arab states, including Saudi Arabia. The forms of their presence in the region, the directions of political and economic expansion should be defined. Another objective of the conference is to answer the question to what extent existing regional conflicts facilitate or hinder the expansion of countries outside the region, and to what extent they are fueled by them for their own purposes.
Organizing Committee
Dr hab. Agnieszka Kastory, prof. UJ
Dr hab. Mirella Korzeniewska-Wiszniewska, prof. UJ
Prof. dr hab. Artur Patek
Organizational information
The conference will be held on November 23 and 24, 2023 in Krakow (Thursday, Friday), at ul. Sławkowska 17 in Polish and English.
It will held in hybrid form. You can participate in person or via the Zoom Platform.
The conference fee is PLN 350. Persons participating remotely will not pay the conference fee.
The organizers provide:
– meals (two lunches and dinner);
– publication of the delivered text in the yearbook “Central European and Balkan Studies” (70 points on the ministerial list).
Important deadlines:
Please submit your participation in the conference with the title of your paper and a brief abstract by July 1, 2023.
Please pay the conference fee by September 30, 2023.
The bank account details will be provided at a later date.
Contact:
Please submit your completed application by July 1, 2023 to the email address:
or
m.korzeniewska-wiszniewska@uj.edu.pl