CES conference Amsterdam

Call for Proposals

20th International Conference of Europeanists

June 25-27, 2013 • Amsterdam, The Netherlands 

        The current economic crisis of debt, the euro, and unemployment takes place in a framework of highly dynamic creative and destructive processes: globalization, heightened nationalisms, continued migration, shifting cultures, rising inequality, security concerns, climate change, sustainable development, etc. All of these things are transforming definitions of Europe (of its geographical boundaries, core institutions and policies, etc.) and the intellectual challenge of grappling with these changes provides the foundations for the 20th International Conference of Europeanists, scheduled to take place in Amsterdam from June 25-27, 2013.

        Thus, the Council for European Studies now invites proposals for panels, roundtables, books discussions, mini-symposia, and individual papers. Proposals may be submitted between August 15 and October 8, 2012. Click here to read the full Call for Proposals or download a flyer with the Call. 

NIG/NOB Annual Workconference 2012

On Thursday 29 and Friday 30 November 2012, the Netherlands Institute of Government (NIG) will hold its 9th annual work conference, in Leuven, Belgium. Call for papers

ECPR General Conference 2013

The 7th ECPR General Conference will take place at Sciences Po Bordeaux, Domaine Universitaire. From 5th - 7th September 2013.  The deadline for Section proposals is 13 July 2012.

More information here

My collegues and me are planning to submit a section proposal on Food Governance. Please contact me for submitting together.  

Anna Szajkowska PhD defense

On 19 March 2012 Anna Szajkowska defended her PhD thesis Regulating food law: Risk analysis and the precautionary principle as general principles of EU food law. It is a legal thesis with a twist of the social sciences to it. Clearly, the author combines broad practical knowledge of the functioning of the European Commission with thorough legal analysis. The promotion commision ruled: " A very good thesis and a very good defense!"

 

SUMMARY:

Animal cloning, nanotechnology, and genetic modifications are all examples of recent controversies around food regulation where scientific evidence occupies a central position. This book provides a fresh perspective on EU scientific food safety governance by offering a legal insight into risk analysis and the precautionary principle, positioned as general principles of EU food law.

To explain what the science-based requirement means in EU multi-level governance, this book places these principles in the legislative dynamics of the EU internal market and the meta-framework of the international trade regime established by the WTO. Numerous examples of the case-law of European Courts show implications of risk analysis and science-based food law for EU and national decision makers, as well as food businesses.

This book focuses on the crucial aspects of the risk analysis methodology. It redefines the precautionary principle and clarifies its scope of application. It analyses the extent to which non-scientific factors, such as consumers' risk perception, local traditions or ethical considerations, can be taken into account at national and EU level. This book argues that, compared to EU institutions, the autonomy allocated to national authorities is much more limited, which raises questions about the legitimacy of food safety governance in the EU.

The book is for sale here,

Anna's PhD diploma is brought back home here :) :

Pieter Zwaan PhD defense

On 23 April Pieter Zwaan successfully defended his PhD thesis.

As proud co-promotor I promote:

Struggling with Europe.
How initiators of horizontal forms of governance
respond to EU formal rules.

SUMMARY

More and more public actors work together or rely on citizens and private actors to provide for public services. These forms of governance are often referred to as horizontal forms of governance. This study focuses on the difficult relationship between horizontal forms of governance and existing EU formal rules.

The study shows that national actors are often strongly committed to the governance initiatives and confident of the possibility to introduce them within the EU formal setting. This mobilises initiators of horizontal forms of governance to not directly conform to possibly restricting EU formal rules. Instead a number of active responses is pursued to introduce the horizontal forms of governance.

As a result of increasing enforcement pressures by the European Commission, initiators eventually realise that their active responses will not be successful and that continuing these will be futile. They start to realise that they must adopt a more pragmatic (and partly conforming) stance.

Annual Conference of the Comparative Agendas Project

The 5^th Annual Conference of the Comparative Agendas Project (CAP)
June 14-16, 2012
Reims, Sciences-Po Campus, France

Local organization: Sciences Po/CEE

Conference committee: Emiliano Grossman (chair), Marcello Carammia, Christopher Green-Pedersen

The 5th CAP conference will take place in Reims at the Euro-American Campus of Sciences Po, hosted in a beautiful 17th Century Jesuit College. The Comparative Agendas Project (CAP) has grown out of the cooperation between more than a dozen national agendas projects. It is a lose structure that does not build on any permanent association or membership.
Paper submissions will be accepted in all areas related to the study of agenda-setting. We encourage contributions building on extensive empirical studies, but will also consider theoretical contributions. We are open to all types of approaches and methodologies.
In particular, we are interested in contributions focusing on the following issues:

-Parties and policy
-Policy process and institutions
-Media and policymaking
-Issues and electoral campaigns
-Framing and policy outcomes

Submissions should be sent to cap-reims2012@sciences-po.fr This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it before February 28, 2012. Decisions on acceptance will be sent out by mid-March.
Reims is directly accessible from Charles-de-Gaulle Airport (30 to 60 minutes by train) and from the Paris train station Gare de l'Est (40 minutes).
Further information with regard to travel and housing will be posted in due course. Information on Reims is available here.