This 7th Europe-Asie conference (the first 6 were held in France, Korea, France, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Kyrgyzstan) looks at the cultural constructions for regions. It brings together scholars from both regions and analyses these constructions from a multidisciplinary perspective. Jointly organised by Warsaw University in Poland, Le Havre University in France, The KazNU university in Kazakhstan and the CEFIR research center in Belgium, this conference will bring together about 30 participants from a dozen countries of Eurasia and unfold over two days. Potential presenters are encouraged to submit papers based on ongoing research in Regional studies in Asia and Europe, focusing on the politics of identity of modern post-war regions.

14^th - 15^th May 2020

Warsaw University - library building

Presentation

The present international conference ascribes to a series of previous international publications covering the topics of : 1) « Regional regime dynamics », published in English in France in 2011 as a book Institutionalising Regions : East-Asian and European perspectives; 2) « The policies of regional cooperation », published in French also in France in 2011 as a book Régions, Institutions, Politiques: perspectives euro-asiatiques institutionnelles et fonctionnelles; 3) « Interregional Competition Europe-Asia in the 21^st century », published in French in Belgium in 2015 as a book Concurrences Interrégionales Europe-Asie au 21ème siècle; 4) « The limits of regional cooperation », published in English in Mongolia in 2015 as a special issue of the Journal Contemporary Political Society; 5) « Can regions understand each other ? », published in 2016 as 5 special issues of, in Mongolia, World Affairs (diplomacy), Contemporary Political Society (1-policies ; 2-Afghanistan) and, in Romania, Public Administration and Regional Studies (1-economics ; 2-logistics); 6) « Cross-border exchanges : Eurasian perspectives on logistics and diplomacy », published in English in Belgium in 2019 as a book, Peter Lang, New International Insights.

These six conferences and ten publications 2011-2019 highlight the dedication of a team of researchers engaged in international comparisons, now opening up to colleagues from Poland, the Czech Republic, Germany, India, New Zealand, England, Belarus, Lithuania, etc., in addition to the countries already represented such as France, Belgium, Turkey, Romania, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan, China, Korea, etc. The 2020 edition covers both continental Asia and the Indo-Pacific space.

After looking in previous editions at the context and framework of region-building, as well as at its limitations and results, this 7^th conference focuses on the cultural basis for identity-building through and thanks to region-building. In the 1990s, the relaunch and expansion of the European construction (Maastricht 1991, enlargements of 1995, 2004, 2007, 2013) as well as its hesitations (Brexit 2016+) are superseded by Asian and Eurasian successful initiatives: the Shanghai process (1996 as a Group, 2001 as an Organisation of 6 members, recently enlarged to 8), the Eurasian process (Customs union, Economic Community, today Eurasian Economic Union with 5 members, soon 6), and a number of other initiatives, among which the CICA, the Silk road One-Belt-One-Road, also security organisations such as the CSTO and cooperative associations (ASEAN, SAARC, …) have added to the landscape formed already by the NATO, the EU, the OSCE, the Council of Europe, etc.

Such a dual « proliferation » of regional (and almost pan-regional) frameworks for cooperation should create a strong incentive to “accompany” these multi-state entities with a legitimising adherence by citizens “accepting” this region-level trend to manage international affairs. Regional construction tends to modify the nature of identities, from national to international. The conference will focus on five aspects of the question : 1) the need for regions, 2) regions as formal constructs, 3) values derived from regional student mobility, 4) reactive Asian initiatives among regions, and 5) European reactive strategies.

Jointly organised / supported by

Faculty of Political Science and International Studies, University of Warsaw

• LexFEIM research Center, Université Le Havre Normandie
• Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Institute for Security and Cooperation Studies
• SEFACIL Foundation, Fondation de France
• Centre for International Relations Studies, Liège, Belgium

Provisional program

Thursday 14^th May 2020

9h30 registration of participants

10h-10h30 Opening addresses : President Warsaw univ., Ambassador, Dean, organisers

10h30-12h What are regions ? The origins of the need to organise competition

12h-12h30 discussion on post transnationalist achievements

12h30-13h15  lunch

13h15-14h45  Cooperation as formalism : regions as institutional constructs

14h45-15h15 discussion on regions as irreversible constructs

15h15-15h45 coffee break

15h45-17h15  Regional identities and values : education, religion and mobilities

17h15-17h45  discussion on the geopolitics of education

Friday 15^th May 2020

10h-11h30 Asian initiatives and the renewal of continental/maritime geopolitics

11h30-12h discussion on the globalisation of Asia

12h-13h lunch

13h-14h30  EU and European (and Eurasian ?) reactive strategies towards Asia

14h30-15h discussion on the contemporary adaptation of Europe

15h-16h Next steps : disclosing location of the 8^th Europe-Asia conference 2022

16h-closing ceremonies : Panel chairs + 2022 local coordinator + organisers

Peter Lang PIE has published six volumes from these European-Asian co-operations (in 2015, 2016a, 2016b, 2016c, 2017, 2019). One of the organisers of the Warsaw conference is co-editor of a Peter Lang series New International Insights. A selection of the best texts presented at the Warsaw conference shall be submitted for publication to Peter Lang PIE.

Submission Guidelines

Deadlines (no exception) : send to zajaczkowski@uw.edu.pl & pierrechabal@yahoo.fr

• Deadline for submission of proposal : 15^th January 2020
• Deadline for submission of conference papers : 15^th April 2020 ; conference paper in TNR 12, spacing 1,5, maximum 25000 signs.
• Deadline for submission of final, publishable versions : 30^th May 2020, final publishable version in quality-checked English

Scientific Committee

• Professor Jakub ZAJACZKOWSKI, Warsaw University, Poland
• Dr Habil Pierre CHABAL, Le Havre Université Normandie, France
• Professor Kuralay BAIZAKOVA, al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty
• Dr Linda MASALSAK, Warsaw University, Poland
• Professor Sébastian SANTANDER, Liège University, Belgium
• Professor Violeta PUSCASU, University of Galati, Romania
• Professor Janar TURTOGTOKH, National University of Mongolia

As common practice, international participants will pay for their own passage to Warsaw. The local organising committee will cover accommodation (2 days, 3 nights) and meals (from dinner on 13th May to breakfast on 16th May). The international organiser will supervise publications logistics and costs.