*ISA Blog

ISA Compendium Project: An Update

The International Studies Compendium Project will be the most comprehensive reference work of its kind for the field of international studies. Peer reviewed essays of up to ten thousand words will focus on important topics and issues. Each essay will provide a comprehensive review of the development of the literature in a given area, as well as a focused discussion of current themes. Essays are designed to allow readers to be brought quickly up-to-date on the nature of questions asked, past attempts at formulating responses, and the current state of debates in a given issue area. These essays are designed for students, scholars or practitioners who want to understand the development of our thinking on international studies.

Every ISA Section, along with groups in political geography and IR theory, has created a list of topics to be included in the project.  These lists have now been reviewed and in some cases, revised and Section Editors have worked within each section to identify potential authors.  To date, we have authors committed to write on approximately 80% of the over 650 Compendium Project review essays. Both authors and reviewers rely on the Wiley-Blackwell author submission website for the formal peer-review process.  We aim to have all of the review essays into the copyediting stage by the end of March 2009.

To learn more about the review essay topics, visit the ISA website at:
http://www.isanet.org/compendium/

Further details on serving as a reviewer may be found here. The Wiley-Blackwell author submission website (for authors and reviewers) can be found here.

Robert Denemark, General Editor
Andrea K. Gerlak, Managing Editor

Newgeography - Millennial Perspective: The Global View

The editors of Newgeography.com invite you to read Abigail Zwick's recently-posted article "Millennial Perspective: The Global View". The article, from a high school senior looking to start college, comments on the rising popularity of international studies as a field of study among her peers. Zwick attributes the change to her generation's increased exposure to recent immigrants and first-generation peers, as well as the constant exposure to world events available on the internet.

Human Rights Section Best Paper Awards

The Human Rights Section of the International Studies Association is pleased to invite nominations for two awards for papers delivered at the 2009 conference in New York. If you were in attendance at a panel, or chaired or acted as a discussant for a panel, and heard a paper you wish to nominate, please do so through the contacts below. Self-nominations are also invited. Papers must have been presented on a panel which was sponsored or co-sponsored by the Human Rights section, as indicated in the program, and must be posted to the New York convention paper archive. There are two categories of award: the Stephen C. Poe best graduate student paper award, and the best faculty/practitioner paper award. Please direct nominations to the following: Sylvia Maier (sylvia.maier@nyu.edu) for the Stephen C Poe best graduate student paper award; and, Amy Ross (rossamy@uga.edu) for the best faculty/practitioner paper award. For more information, please see the award website. Nominations should be received by 15 May 2009.

CfP: Hellenic Observatory PhD Symposium

The deadline for the call for papers for the 4th Hellenic Observatory PhD Symposium is extended. The new deadline is 23 March 2009. Applicants must fill in the ‘paper proposal form’ and submit it electronically to Hellenicobservatory.phd@lse.ac.uk . The paper proposal form as well as further information about the Symposium can be found here. The Hellenic Observatory PhD Symposium is a biennial meeting of young scholars working on issues related to Greece and Cyprus that serves as a forum for the discussion and reflection upon the changes that have taken place in contemporary Greece and its neighborhood.

CfP: JIBS Special Issue

The Journal of International Business Studies invites paper proposals for a special issue in memory of John H. Dunning. Professor Dunning was one of the founders of the modern field of international business (IB) research, with a scholarly oeuvre spanning a 50-year period.  His last public message, sent to the Academy of International Business Fellows just before he passed away on January 29, 2009, recommended that JIBS prepare a Special Issue devoted to “the various and unique causes and implications of the current world wide credit crunch and economic slow down; and what might be done to avoid this happening again.” Building on this theme, we are particularly interested in how the current crisis of the global market economy affects international business through its impact on MNEs, including the entire range of internationally active firms, from entrepreneurial start-ups to the largest, global companies. We are equally interested in new forms of business–government interaction in the context of international policy coordination as well as renewed protectionism.

Manuscripts must be submitted at http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/jibs. Please select the option from the special issue drop-down menu in Manuscript Central that identifies your paper as a submission for the “Global Economic Crises and International Business” Special Issue, and include the words “Global Economic Crises and IB Special Issue Submission” on your title page. All submissions will go through the JIBS regular double-blind review process and follow the same norms and processes. As manuscripts are accepted for publication, they will be posted in the Advance Online Publication system on http://www.jibs.net. For more information about this Call for Papers, please contact the Special Issue Editors or the JIBS Managing Editor (managing-editor@jibs.net). The full text of the call has been posted here. The deadline for submissions is January 29, 2010.

IREX US Embassy Policy Specialist (EPS) Program

IREX is pleased to announce 2009-2010 competition for the US Embassy Policy Specialist (EPS) Program. The EPS Program provides fellowships of up to eight weeks to U.S. scholars and professionals to serve U.S. embassies as policy specialists on a chosen topic and pursue their own research project independently. EPS Grant covers the cost of travel and housing and provides a living stipend. The EPS application and supporting materials are available on the IREX website. The application deadline is April 6, 2009.

Call for 2009 Boulding Award Nominations

The Peace Studies Section of ISA invites nominations for the 2009 Boulding Award. The award was established to honor Kenneth E. Boulding, a founder of the field of Peace Studies. The Award Committee seeks a graduate student research paper, delivered at the most recent ISA meetings, that is (a) theoretically based, (b) empirical (qualitative and/or quantitative), and (c) relevant to a significant problem in the field of peace studies. Any excellent exploration in the area of Peace Research is eligible. Direct submissions from graduate students and nominations from panel chairs and discussants are welcome. The award recipient will receive a two-year membership in ISA, a travel grant from the Peace Studies section toward expenses to attend the ISA Annual Convention, and a certificate to be awarded at the convention. To nominate, please submit an electronic copy of the paper presented at the recent New York convention to Gavan Duffy, gduffy@maxwell.syr.edu. Please include the full contact information institutional affiliations of the nominator and, if different, the nominee. Deadline for submissions: April 15, 2009.

Identity Politics on the Internet

The Institute of Identity Research (IDmap) announces an international conference on Identity Politics on the Internet to be held in Kenya on the 27th to 29th of August 2009. The aim of the Conference is to create discourse in the area of Identity politics on the Internet and other related topics. The Conference will be graced by several leading scholars who have written and researched extensively on issues of Identity. We hope that this conference will result in solutions and better understanding of the problems facing issues of identity in the contemporary context. For more information, please see the conference website.

ISA 2009 Call for Nominations

The International Studies Association Nominating Committee invites members of the association to nominate officers for the 2011-2012 period, including a president and three vice-presidents, each of whom will serve a one-year term. Criteria for officers are professional distinction and past involvement in and knowledge of ISA. Nominations should contain: (1) a detailed letter that addresses these points and (2) a current vita for the candidate. Nominations should also have the prior approval of the candidate. ISA is committed to diversity in its officers in terms of their theoretical and methodological perspectives, geographical location, gender, and ethnicity. THE DEADLINE FOR NOMINATIONS IS MAY 15, 2009.

Nominations should be sent to the chair of ISA’s nominating committee: Professor Michelle Benson at mbenson2@buffalo.edu.