2011 APSA Conference call for papers
DIVISION 15
European Politics and Society
Division Chair, Michael Bernhard, ,
University of Florida, ,
bernhard@ufl.edu
After a half century in which Europeans set global standards for material well-being, supranational cooperation, protection of human rights, and responsible foreign policy, the global financial crisis and the changing demographics of Europe have posed a number of political challenges. The futures of the European Union and the Euro seem threatened by the recent economic meltdown and the weakness of state finances in a number of member states. The changing demographic composition of Europe has also posed challenges to notions of what it means to be European and which citizens are entitled to what rights. In a number of countries, the issue of how different religions can present themselves publicly has become a hotbed issue. On the Eastern and Southern periphery of the European Union pressures for expansion have cooled considerably, and conditions in certain of the newer member states have promoted a revitalization of aggressive right-wing movements and parties. Twenty years after 1989 democracy and markets are under attack by radical forces in several countries.
Has the rapid change of the last twenty years and the unexpected financial difficulties of the last few taken the steam out of the European project, or this merely a bump in the road? Will Europe continue to be a stable and prosperous region in a more contentious world system? Will change and instability come to threaten the rich basket of material protections, and civil and political rights that Europeans have come to enjoy in the last half century? The organizers are looking for panels, roundtables, and papers that address these issues, but are open to other suggestions as proposed by the membership of the section.
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