HomeCan we compare the “Color Revolutions” and the “Arab Springs”?
Can we compare the “Color Revolutions” and the “Arab Springs”?
Peut-on comparer les « révolutions de couleur » et les « printemps arabes » ?
Democratic Dynamics, Institutional Changes, Transnational Movements and International Relations
Dynamiques démocratiques, changements institutionnels, circulations transnationales et relations internationales
Published on Wednesday, March 18, 2015
Abstract
The conference will explore the revolutionary processes and the (more or less successful) democratic dynamics underway within Eastern Europe and the Arab world, in order to demonstrate how plural societies emerge through protest against authoritarian States. It will also question, by using a multidisciplinary approach, the reality of the interaction between democratization and international relations.
Announcement
Objectives
The conference will explore the revolutionary processes and the (more or less successful) democratic dynamics underway within Eastern Europe and the Arab world, in order to demonstrate how plural societies emerge through protest against authoritarian States. It will also question, by using a multidisciplinary approach, the reality of the interaction between democratization and international relations.
In the years following the demise of the Soviet Union, research on the processes of democratization was dominated by the democratic transition paradigm. However, as former Soviet countries evolved politically, this paradigm began to lose its relevance. Democratization took other forms and followed other paths that those initially envisioned. All the same, the observed or potential impact of external actors on domestic processes has proven diffuse, complex and difficult to assess.
More recently, the “color revolutions” in the post-Soviet space and the popular upheavals in Arab countries have shown that democratization processes are rarely linear. Rather they are marked by crises and conflicts which, depending on the situations, are or could become warning signals or culminating points of the deep forces operating within the societies, and strong accelerators of the ongoing developments.
For this reason, the conference intends to analyze the diverse political trajectories of the countries concerned by exploring the links between domestic evolutions and international relations. Taking into account both the endogenous and the exogenous factors, it will seek to understand the current transformations inside the Arab world and in Eastern Europe while at the same time evaluating in a critical way the notion of the process of democratization itself.
Comparing Eastern Europe and the Arab world, the conference will be structured around three main topics:
1 – Origins and determinants of the revolutions
- Triggering factors: social, economic, political (absence of the rule of law, fight against corruption, denunciation of the capture of national wealth by a small minority, rejection of the arbitrary use of power…) and international;
- The emergence of civil societies;
- The role of external references and actors (States, international organizations, NGO) in the emergence of protest;
- The impact of EU policies (objectives, tools and actions of the EU and their limitations); the impact of American and Russian policies and their reception in the countries concerned and in third countries (in particular, in the Russian Federation).
2 – Revolutions
- The abruptness and the simultaneous occurrence of the phenomena; the “domino effect”;
- Mobilizing ideas, their dissemination, circulation and impact; the “founding” texts; the “idea brokers”;
- Relations between youth movements in the various countries; the impact of migrations (students, workers, elites…) on the circulation of ideas; networks of protest;
- Influence of the media (including foreign), the social networks and other new information technologies (Youtube…);
- Figures of dissent: their education and training, career, objectives;
- The role of other actors: associations, in particular foreign NGOs (Freedom House, Soros…), churches, religious movements, oligarchs (in Eastern European countries), etc.;
- The objectives of the protests;
- The outbreak and spread of violence;
- The emergence of political or cultural “models”;
- The words of the revolution.
3 – Repercussions
- Political, institutional, societal and economic; modification of the regime of accumulation;
- International and geopolitical implications;
- Regionalization, territorial fragmentation and territorial redefinitions, re- compositions of identity.
Conclusion: is a comparison between Eastern Europe and the Arab world pertinent and meaningful?
Procedure
The deadline for submitting proposals is
April 30, 2015.
Proposals should include a one-page outline and a one-page CV of the author with a short list of his or her major publications.
The conference scientific committee (see below) will examine the proposals and notify the selected authors by June 10, 2015.
In order for the papers to be available to conference participants, authors will be asked to submit their draft papers by September 18, 2015.
Depending on the results of the CFP and of the conference, the scientific committee may plan to publish the papers or a selection of the papers as an edited volume or a special issue of a journal.
The contribution of junior researchers is welcome.
Proposals should be emailed to: colloqueuroparabe@gmail.com
The available budget will allow reimbursement of transportation and accommodation for only a limited number of participants.
Both French and English will be the conference working languages.
The conference will he held on September 25th, 2015, Paris
Conveners
- Jean-Yves Moisseron (Paris 7 University/CESSMA and IRD) and
- Anne de Tinguy (INALCO and Sciences Po, CERI)
Scientific committee
- Emmanuelle Armandon (INALCO),
- Nidhal Ben Cheikh (CRESS-Tunisia),
- Amel Ben Rouhma (Paris Descartes University/CEDAG),
- Laure Delcour (CASCADE Project, FP7),
- Petia Koleva (Université Paris 7, LADYSS),
- Laurence Louër (Sciences Po, CERI),
- Georges Mink (ISP-CNRS, College of Europe, Natolin campus),
- Jean-Yves Moisseron (Paris 7 University/CESSMA and IRD),
- M’hamed Oualdi (Princeton University),
- Delphine Pagès-El Karoui (INALCO),
- Florent Parmentier (Sciences Po),
- Anne de Tinguy (INALCO and Sciences Po, CERI),
- Julien Vercueil (INALCO),
- Volodymyr Yermolenko (Mohyla Academy, Kiev).
Subjects
- Political studies (Main category)
- Society > Political studies > Political science
- Society > Political studies > Political history
- Periods > Modern > Twenty-first century
- Society > Political studies > International relations
- Society > Political studies > Political and social movements
- Society > Political studies > Political sociology
Places
- salle de conférences, Sciences Po-CERI - 56, rue Jacob
Paris, France (75006)
Date(s)
- Thursday, April 30, 2015
Keywords
- révolution, comparaison, démocratie, mobilisations, changement, transition, revolution, comparison, change, democracy, mobilization
Contact(s)
- Anne De Tinguy
courriel : colloqueuroparabe [at] gmail [dot] com
Information source
- Anne De Tinguy
courriel : colloqueuroparabe [at] gmail [dot] com
License
This announcement is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal.
To cite this announcement
« Can we compare the “Color Revolutions” and the “Arab Springs”? », Call for papers, Calenda, Published on Wednesday, March 18, 2015, https://doi.org/10.58079/s8z
