Time: 10:00am - 7:00pm
Decentring Europe: Critical Approaches to European foreign policy
Research Seminar
7 March 2019, University of London Institute in Paris
Background and Rationale
A number of subsequent events that took place in the past few years such as the Arab uprisings or the crisis in Ukraine have exposed the systematic failures of EU foreign policy. This has led many experts in the academic as well as policy communities to point to the lack of attention of EU policy-makers to the vulnerable, socio-economic inequalities, the gap between centres and peripheries, as well as to the lack of prospects for the youth.
In a way, these assertions resonate with several recent attempts to propose a decentred agenda for the study and practice of the EU’s actorness in international relations (Fisher-Onar and Nicolaidis, 2013; Keukeleire and Lecocq, 2016), and foster further debate on Eurocentrism, including on the EU’s practices of geopolitical othering that orientalises other parts of the world (Borg and Diez, 2016: 145). Bar a few exceptions (see Kamel and Huber, 2015), however, such questions, formulated in the framework of critical social, have barely entered the realm of European Studies.
Therefore, this workshop aims to depart from prevailing conceptualisations of European foreign policy and develop new epistemological and ontological approaches as well as methodologies to formulate novel, decentred analytical perspectives for European foreign policy. It will engage scholars as well as experts from the EU’s diplomatic service in what is expected to be a fruitful discussion.
Please consult the concept note for further discussion of the concept and the approach of the workshop
Workshop added-valueThis workshop focuses on the research agenda of decentring Europe and engage scholars into a discussion over its significance and relevance for EU foreign policy. It includes leading scholars in the field and bring in scholars from other disciplines and young scholars to brainstorm about the furthering of the research agenda, its methodological challenges and operationalisation. These ateliers aim to provide room to operationalise the research agenda. This workshop is kindly supported by a UACES small grant, the Centre for European Research and the General Research Fund of the School of Politics and International Relations at Queen Mary University of London.
Organiser: Sarah Wolff, Director of the Center for European Research, Queen Mary University of London (s.wolff@qmul.ac.uk)
Contact: David Gazsi, King’s College London (david.gazsi@kcl.ac.uk)
Programme
10.00 Arrival of participants, registration & coffee
10.15-10.45am Welcoming and Presentation of the overall project
10.45-12.45pm A de-centering agenda on European foreign policy studies: what’s new?
Chair: Kim Hutchings, QMUL
Discussant: Christian Lequesne, Sciences Po Paris
12.45-1.30pm Lunch
1.30- 3.00pm Thematic Atelier on de-centring the EU as an international actor in practice to split up in 4 small sessions and reconvene for 30min conclusions, these ateliers will provide the opportunity for other participants to present their research on the theme, a call for short presentations has been published through UACES targeting in particular young scholars. Participants to be specified. Moderators:
3.00-3.30pm Summary of the Thematic Atelier debates
3.30-3.50 Coffee break
3.50pm-5.35pm Methods and Practice in Decentring European Foreign Policy
Chair: Sharon Lecocq, KU Leuven
Discussants: Stephan Keukeleire, KU Leuven
5.40-7pm Kimberly Hutchings’ Keynote speech on Europe and the ‘pluriverse’: a global ethical approach to cultural pluralism.
Discussants: Stephan Keukeleire (Leuven University) and Peter Brett (QMUL)Chair and Moderator: Sarah Wolff (QMUL)
Thematic Atelier Participants
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CHECK THE EVENT’S 2 Concept note - Paris UACES CER Decentring Europe.pdf [PDF 222KB]