ECPR General Conference
Hamburg, 22-25 August, 2018
Shaping global interdependencies in complex global governance: actors, issues, dilemmas
Promoted by ECPR SGIR
Section chairs:
Daniela Irrera – University of Catania
dirrera@unict.it
Nora Stappert – University of Gothenburg
nora.stappert@gu.se
In times marked by rapid changes and uncertain perspectives, the need to explain current events and highly complex phenomena requires both theoretical and empirical innovation. As a consequence, well-established theories and approaches may need to be challenged, updated and adapted. The notion of global interdependence has been broadly used to understand how various actors respond to emerging economic, social and political issues vital to the global community. Much scholarship has shed light on the tensions between different levels of government, institutions and rules such responses may entail. This section seeks to provide a platform for a multidisciplinary debate on how the notion of global interdependence is changing and needs to be rethought in today’s world, and on how its dynamics are affecting governance across scales and issue areas.
Traditionally, research on interdependence has focused on economic and security politics as well as on the complex relationships between transnational communities and dominant nation states. Recent research on global interdependence has broadened its focus to include three main, partly overlapping categories. Firstly, scholars have focused on how actors across different dimensions (governmental towards/vs. intergovernmental; non-governmental vs./towards governmental) have responded to a wide variety of key issues and needs. Secondly, previous research has revolved around both formal and informal mechanisms and forms of dialogue, which led to a better understanding of the multiple ways in which rule, norms and principles are shaped, negotiated, and potentially codified, and how practices and informal channels have been legitimated and institutionalised. Thirdly, the application of these insights to other policy areas has broadened the debate to include a wide variety of political and social contexts and arenas characterized by different sets of constraints and power dynamics. Climate change, international migration, the implications of new forms of terrorism, and the effects of civil conflicts are cases in point.
Taken together, these three overlapping research areas have individually and collectively broadened and enriched existing works on global interdependence. Researchers contributing to each of these research areas are invited to join this section’s discussion.
Panels and papers should be submitted via online forms on MyECPR. Panels with Papers can be submitted here. Individual Papers can be submitted here.
All Panels and Papers must be submitted by midnight UK time on 15 February 2018.
12th Pan-European Conference on International Relations
Prague, 12-15 September 2018
S41 Rethinking global interdependencies in today’s world: actors, rules, trends
Promoted by ECPR SGIR
Section chairs:
Daniela Irrera – University of Catania
dirrera@unict.it
Nora Stappert – University of Gothenburg
nora.stappert@gu.se
In the context of both a rapidly changing world and academic landscape, IR knowledge is constantly challenged and prompted to explain recent events. As a consequence, traditional theories and approaches need to be rethought and potentially updated to adapt to new and highly complex phenomena and trends. Rethinking traditional theories concerns notions such as global and complex interdependencies, which have been researched extensively to understand the political consequences of global governance. Research on global interdependence has traditionally concentrated on economic and security governance, and on the difficult relations between transnational communities and the dominance of states in global governance. More recent investigations have tended to broaden their focus to a larger set of global problems. Climate change, environmental issues, international migration, the implications of new forms of terrorism, and the effects of civil conflicts are central concerns of the current research agenda. Building on this strand of research, this section seeks to provide a platform for renewed discussions on how the notion of global interdependence should be rethought in today’s changing world, and on how global interdependencies are continuing to affect governance – at all levels – across a broad variety of policy areas, levels of government, institutions and rules.
Panels, papers and roundtables proposals may be submitted through the Conference website.
Proposals may refer to the following suggested themes:
– Global interdependencies and the management of financial flows and free trade
– The environment, sustainable development and global interdependencies
– Global interdependencies and the management of migration
– Global interdependencies, security and counterterrorism
– Global interdependencies and the questions of environmental global justice
– Global interdependencies, global warming and the politicization of academic knowledge
– International institutions and global interdependencies
The closing date for paper, panel, and roundtable proposals is 1 February 2018.
