Call for Panel and or Paper proposals on Forms of Political Violence
8th ECPR General Conference, University of Glasgow
3-6 September 2014
The Standing Group on Political Violence (Covenors Dr. Lorenzo Bosi and Dr. Niall Ó Dochartaigh) of the European Consortium for Political Research-ECPR invites proposals for papers to be included in the program of the 8th ECPR General Conference, to be hosted on 3 - 6 September 2014 at the University of Glasgow, UK.
Title of Section
Forms of political violence
Section Chairs
Dr. Lorenzo Bosi (European University Institute)
Dr. Stefan Malthaner (European University Institute)
Have forms of political violence changed in contemporary socio-political conflicts? How are different forms of political violence legitimized? Do forms of political violence change and/or coexist during the same episode? Do we need different analytical approaches to study different forms of political violence? Are periods of economic crises conducive to particular forms of political violence? Why are some groups more likely to adopt particular forms of political violence? Do forms of political violence change across geographical areas, types of conflict or historical periods?
These questions, which form the core puzzle of this section, are in our view fundamental for furthering the debate on political violence, which so far has largely been segmented into specific fields which focus on particular forms of political violence.
Political violence broadly defined, including guerrilla warfare, insurgency, terrorism, rebellion, revolution, rioting and civil war, can be distinguished in several ways: by the nature of the objectives; by the targets of attacks; by the organizational structure of groups and by the repertoire of actions. We will pay particular attention to tactical repertoires, how these are selected, how they depend on the repertoires' historical evolution and on the socio-poilitical context, their consequences, across different times and settings. This section, then, will develop comparisons across different forms of political violence, underlining similarities and identifying differences. For these reasons we welcome papers that address three main issues: (1) conceptual and theoretical thinking about forms of political violence, including refining existing definitions and typologies; (2) methodological reflections about how to deal with the subject matter and how to avoid the obstacles that have hindered previous research, from both a quantitative and qualitative perspective; (3) empirical analyses of different forms of political violence, in particular comparative studies encompassing different types of conflicts and/or countries. We welcome submissions that deal with actor groups such as social and protest movements, terrorist groups, insurgencies and other non-state armed formations.
If you are interested in proposing a paper on one of the topics listed below, please contact the corresponding panel organizer by January 24th, 2014. Alternatively, you are also welcome to propose a standalone paper, or a full panel on another topic. Anyone wishing to propose a standalone paper will need to propose it to a specific Section. If accepted, the Section chair will allocate it to the appropriate Panel. As for Panel proposals, they must include a minimum of four papers and each paper must include the paper title, an abstract and author(s) details.
The procedure for submission is outlined below. Although the call for full panels and individual papers will remain open until 15 February 2014 on the ECPR website (
http://www.ecpr.eu/Events/EventDetails.aspx?EventID=14) proposals to specific panels should be emailed by January 24th in order to allow time to coordinate the organizers’ efforts.
Please feel free to contact the Section chair Lorenzo Bosi (lorenzo.bosi@???) for further information.
>From the ECPR website:
Proposers of Panels or papers need not belong to an ECPR member institution, but they must create a free MyECPR account.
As Europe's biggest political science conference, the ECPR's General Conference gathers scholars from across the world to discuss key areas of this discipline. The conference follows a traditional format with the Academic Programme consisting of lectures, Roundtables and themed Sections and Panels on topical subjects. Each Panel will include 4 – 5 Papers to be presented and discussed. The Programme will be very broad with Sections covering all the main areas of political science, political theory, international relations and European studies. You can present and discuss your work or simply observe and become involved in other elements of the programme.
Call for Full Panels and individual Papers
The call for Panels and individual Papers is now open. This stage of the process is open to all participants, but please note that all participants must have a MyECPR account. Individuals can propose a Panel including 4 – 5 Papers or propose individual Papers to a particular Section. Further information explaining the stages in detail can be found in the Guidelines page on
www.ecpr.eu<
http://www.ecpr.eu/>
When proposing a Panel/Paper please note that:
* Panel proposals must include a minimum of four Papers and each Paper must include the Paper title, an abstract and author(s) details.
* A standalone Paper can be proposed to a specific Section. If accepted, the Section chair will then allocate it to the appropriate Panel.
* Please note that there will not be a subsequent separate call for Papers.
If you have any further queries about the General Conference, please email Jenna Barnard at generalconference@???.
General Conference funding opportunities
A funding opportunity of €250 is available towards the conference for individuals affiliated with ECPR full member institutions (subject to meeting the required criteria). The funding application process will open next year and details will be available on the website in due course. For further queries, please email Anna Foley at afoley@???.
Panel title
What makes violence political? Forms, Framing and Context
Panel organizers/chairs
Alex Veit, University of Bremen, veit@???<
mailto:veit@uni-bremen.de>
Teresa Koloma Beck, Centre Marc Bloch, Berlin, tkb@???<
mailto:tkb@cmb.hu-berlin.de>
Abstract
This panel investigates how violence comes to be labelled as political. Especially with regard to contemporary violent events, boundaries between private and public spheres, or political and criminal realms, are frequently disputed: Violent demonstrations, resulting in material damage, are often denounced as vandalism, implying non-political motivations of protesters. Similarly, the systematic use of sexual violence as »weapon of war« in military conflict tends to undermine the respective agent’s political legitimacy. Guerrilla tactics have been celebrated as a weapon of the weak, yet analysts of supposedly »new wars« doubt the political character of contemporary asymmetric warfare. Violence taking place in the domestic sphere has long been considered outside of political concerns, but with the feminist movement‘s claim that »the private is political« it came to be interpreted as a political act.
These examples hint at the complexity of pinpointing »the political« in violent (inter-)action as well as at the contradicting implications of this label. While the political-ness of violence seems to be decided upon by discourse and framing, factors such as repertoires of actions, motivations, and techniques of communication matter as well as other contextual elements. As the politicization and depoliticization of violent events has not yet been systematically analysed, the panel invites contributions that look at these factors, processes and their outcomes. It is open to both empirical and theoretical papers, dealing with all forms of violence, actor groups and contexts.
Panel title
Trajectories of political violence
Panel organizer/chair
Dr. Stefan Malthaner (European University Institute):stefan.malthaner@???<
mailto:stefan.malthaner@eui.eu>
Abstract
Processes of political violence are highly dynamic, constantly changing phenomena that entail shifts in the form, scale, and spaces of violence as well as the continuous transformation of actors. One of the problems with concepts such as “terrorism” (but also “guerrilla warfare”, for example) is that they tend to obscure the heterogeneity and the constantly evolving character of episodes of political violence, as well as the fact that different forms of political violence frequently do co-exist or evolve one out of the other.
By inviting papers addressing the question of trajectories of political violence, this panel seeks to draw attention to these patterns of transformation – the transformation of forms of violence and the transformation of militant groups – over the course of episodes of political violence. Topics of particular interest to the panel include: How does violent protest develop into clandestine violence and large-scale insurgencies? And what is the relationship between different forms of political violence that coexist during certain episodes? How are armed groups re-shaped, for example by violent escalation, harsh repression, or drug economies? And when and how do shifts between different social spaces (i.e. from urban centers to the rural or suburban periphery) occur and how do they re-shape violent conflicts?
Panel title
Political Violence and Legitimacy: Concepts and Methodologies
Panel organizer/chair
Chares Demetriou (Queen’s University Belfast):chares.demetriou@???<
mailto:chares.demetriou@gmail.com>
Abstract
Political violence is an umbrella term, covering phenomena variously thought of as rebellions, insurgencies, terrorism, civil war, and so on. Legitimacy is likewise a broad term, connoting variously acceptance, acquiescence, endorsement, approval, and so on. This panel seeks to explore the issue of the legitimacy of political violence from a conceptual and methodological perspective. It therefore seeks to explore (1) how to conceptualize political violence and legitimacy in general terms and (2) how to research the legitimacy of political violence.
The first aim takes for granted that a unified set of connotations fits the term political violence, just as legitimacy is considered a term with its own coherent connotations. What is, therefore, the common denominator among the concepts rebellion, insurgency, civil war, etc? Is something that relates to the targets of violence, the aims of violence, the repertoires of violence, or the organization and mobilization behind violence? And what is the genus to legitimacy? Is it collective psychology, social structure, some form of process, or something else?
The second aim builds on the first aim, moving from connotation to denotation. It therefore considers the phenomena denoted when we think of the legitimacy of political violence, as well as the ways we can design research on them. Is studying these phenomena a matter of aggregating traces of micro-behavior, finding the signifiers of structure, locating emergent modalities, or something else?
We invite paper submissions from reflective researchers of political violence. Both abstract papers and papers featuring extensive empirical illustrations are welcome.
Panel title
Political Violence in times of economic crisis
Panel organizers/chairs
Lorenzo Bosi, European University Institute, lorenzo.bosi@???
Lorenzo Zamponi, European University Institute,lorenzo.zamponi@???<
mailto:lorenzo.zamponi@eui.eu>
Abstract
The goal of this panel is to advance the understanding of political violence in times of economic crisis. In order to do this we are concerned with addressing the following interrelated research questions: How do violent repertoires of contention relate to the context of economic crisis? Does economic hardship provide incentives to the use of violent tactics? Which forms of political violence are most widely used in this context? Why, and with which outcomes? How does the context of economic crisis impact on the level of socially tolerated violence and on the individuals' availability to certain tactics? Which kind of justification of political violence is pursued in times of economic crisis? Which political groups are more likely to turn to violence in this context? How do security forces react to political violence in time of crisis? We welcome submissions coming from different disciplinary fields, in the attempt to bridge the scholarship on political violence with the empirical analysis of the social outcomes of the economic crisis. Each abstract will be evaluated for: quality and clarity of the research question; methodological precision in the comparative approach; theoretically original contribution and discussion of available knowledge; relevance and pertinence to the workshop’s themes.
Title of Panel
Transforming forms of political violence during disengagement processes
Panel Chair
Niall Ó Dochartaigh (National University of Ireland Galway): niall.odochartaigh@???
Katy Hayward (Queen’s University Belfast):
Abstract
The panel explores processes of disengagement from political violence. It examines changing forms of violence, the political and social dynamics of ‘exit’ from violence and the relationship between disengagement by armed groups and the wider socio-political context. We welcome papers that deal with all aspects of disengagement from political violence but particularly those that focus on changes in forms of violence. As groups prepare to end militant campaigns they often intensify and shift the focus of their violence. As campaigns are halted some forms of violence come to an end but others continue and in some cases new forms of violence come to the fore. These changes in forms of violence are in turn embedded in wider relationships and are shaped by both-intra-party and inter-party power relations. One core assumption of the panel organisers is that insights can be gained from considering the elements of continuity (in rationale, objectives, legitimation) in a group’s disengagement from violence, rather than focusing exclusively on what has been transformed.
Among the issues that papers might address are:
How do different forms, repertoires and tactical uses of violence shape processes of disengagement from violence and subsequent long-term processes of stabilization and integration?
What is the impact of transition and disengagement for the actor groups concerned, including the challenge of leadership and managing the risk of fragmentation.
What effect does disengagement from violence and the persistence of certain forms of violence have on militant organisations and their political prospects in a changed socio-political context?
How do changes in the wider context facilitate and promote disengagement from violence, be they minimal changes such as the lifting of censorship of a party or major changes like the rewriting of a constitution or the redrawing of a state border?
---------------------------------------------
Dr Lorenzo Bosi,
Department of Political and Social Sciences,
European University Institute,
Via dei Roccettini, 9, 50014,
San Domenico (Firenze), Italy.
http://eui.academia.edu/lorenzobosi
Main research interests: Social Movements and Political Violence
The information transmitted is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain confidential and/or privileged material. Any review, retransmission, dissemination, distribution, forwarding, or other use of, or taking of any action in reliance upon, this information by persons or entities other than the intended recipient is prohibited without the express permission of the sender. If you received this communication in error, please contact the sender and delete the material from any computer.
