INTERNATIONAL STUDIES ASSOCIATION - ISA
BRAZILIAN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS ASSOCIATION - ABRI
JOINT INTERNATIONAL MEETING
DIVERSITY AND INEQUALITY IN WORLD POLITICS
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL
22-24 JULY 2009
PROGRAM CHAIRS: JOÃO PONTES NOGUEIRA (PUC-Rio) and KAREN A. RASLER (Indiana University)
Organized by: the International Studies Association and the Brazilian International Relations Association.
Held by: Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio)
International Relations Institute
Location: Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro’s campus (PUC-Rio)
CALL FOR PAPERS:
The profound changes in the international system after the Cold War fostered promises of a more integrated, peaceful and prosperous world. However, conflicts permeated by cultural, ethnic and religious cleavages have appeared suggesting new and dangerous dynamics in the international system. The question remains whether multilateral institutions and the growing consensus about the basic underlying values of international society can offer positive solutions to these conflicts. At the same time, globalization of the international political economy has thus far failed to spread economic growth evenly and incorporate poor societies into the world market as early enthusiasts projected. The growing awareness about these social inequalities in world politics justifies expectations that the issue will remain a priority on the agenda of multilateral institutions in a foreseeable future and that progress will be gradually made.
Meanwhile, issues of identity and ethnic differences also intersect with social and economic inequalities in a growing range of contemporary conflicts. Without reducing one to the other, a growing number of IR scholars have considered cultural politics as an explanation for the exclusion of the majority of the world’s population from the benefits of economic development. However, other scholars focus on structural dimensions associated with material and institutional environments as reasons for the growing conflict within and among countries and regions along religious, ethnic and cultural lines. In Latin America, for instance, political developments in a number of states have demonstrated the role of indigenous identity politics in restructuring states and their economies. This meeting would like to encourage further discussions that explore the issues of diversity and inequality in integrated analytical frameworks.
Another central theme of this meeting is to elaborate how developments in world politics after 2001 have fostered processes that have fragmented the international system into competing world views and produced destabilizing severe power asymmetries. For instance, a growing number of scholars and practitioners have approached the challenges of world order and justice by restating the necessity of addressing inequalities in North-South relations and defending alternative South-South alliances that seek to balance a single superpower.
Moreover, new political leaders have framed the problem of diversity and plurality in world politics as an opportunity to contest the universality of western style democratic institutions and individual freedoms. How and why these issues are emerging in the world community constitutes an important area of research.
As a field, International Relations has expanded considerably outside its North American region. A growing number of scholars, academic institutions and associations have emerged in the last two decades, initiating a process of progressive, albeit uneven, inclusion of contributions from all parts of the world to the ongoing debates in the discipline. This process is reflected in the impressive internationalization of ISA’s annual conventions, in the creation of the World International Studies Committee (WISC) and in the organization of a great number of international and regional conferences – all of which have contributed to a lively exchange between international scholars worldwide.
The joint ISA/ABRI conference is the first of its kind in South America and its main objective is to stimulate academic exchange between Latin-American scholars and the international studies community worldwide. Besides encouraging a strong regional presence, the meeting is also an opportunity for the participation of scholars from the Caribbean and Africa.
DEADLINES FOR SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS: DECEMBER 20TH 2008
CONTACT INFORMATION FOR PANEL AND PAPER PROPOSALS:
João Pontes Nogueira (PUC–Rio) and Karen Rasler (Indiana University), Program Co-Chairs
International Relations Institute
Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro
R. Marques de Sao Vicente 225 – casa 20 – Vila dos Diretórios
22451-900 Rio de Janeiro – Brazil
Indiana University
Department of Political Science
Bloomington, IN 47405 – USA
e-mail: Rio2009@abri.org.br
