About
- The extent to which they engage seriously with the aim of the conference to question prevailing concepts and theories in the social sciences generally, and those pertaining to the Arab region particularly.
- The theoretical and empirical depth of the paper and the focus on innovative cases and locations.
The Theme
1) Transformations of State and of Forms of Sovereignty
- New Sources of Legitimacy: What sources of legitimacy do states draw upon and how might these be contested by other forces? What impact does domestic power struggles, decentralization, devolution of state authority and federalism have on sovereignty as well as on political inequality, participation and loyalty?
- Socio-Political Actors: What socio-political actors are emerging within and across societies and states? What are some of the emergent forms of organization, alternative discourses and new imaginaries forged by social movements, labor unions, political parties, NGOs, community organizations, transnational social movement organizations, etc.? How can underprivileged groups such as refugees, domestic workers, construction workers, peasants, slaves mobilize? What is the nature of new or renewed demands, for dignity, social justice, citizenship rights and human rights?
- Military Establishment: What is the role of military establishments, especially in the case of civil conflict and fragmenting or failing states? What other types of organized armed groups exercise power and control and how are these forms linked to local, national or regional reconfigurations of territory and space and sovereignty?
- Regional, National and Transnational Actors: How is sovereignty exercised at different scales of political organization and how do these scales intersect to transform state power and forms of governmentality and sovereignty as well as to structure social space in particular localities?
- Citizenship, Political Participation, Human Rights: How is citizenship, belonging or disenfranchisement experienced and performed in the everyday lives of different groups in society, including the poor and the marginalized, the middle classes, civil servants, young men and women among others? How does the interplay of different social markers (religion, gender, age, ethnicity, etc.) deepen the experience of participation or marginalization of certain social groups? What is the impact of these processes on political participation, social mobilization and rights?
- Securitization - Concepts and Practices: What is the relationship between processes of securitization and state sovereignty? What forces, discourses and practices are leading to the increasing securitization of various domains of state and society across the region? Is the concept of ‘human security’ still relevant in a context of escalating militarization of public and private space?
Application Instructions and Conference Information
The ACSS invites proposals for individual paper presentations or for organized panels. The Conference Planning Committee will review all applications and select the final list of presenters.
We strongly encourage applications in Arabic, however proposals may be submitted in Arabic, English or French and should be in the language of the planned paper and presentation. Simultaneous translation will be available at the conference.
1) Individual Applicants
To submit a paper proposal, please complete the online application form including the cover sheet and an abstract of 1 page (or approximately 500). See this page for guidelines on how to write a successful abstract.
Please note that applicants can submit a co-authored paper proposal. However, if selected for inclusion in the conference, the ACSS can only guarantee financial support for the primary author. The ACSS will decide if it is possible to provide support for a second author on a case-by-case basis after the selection decisions have been announced.
2) Organized Panels
The ACSS strongly encourages individuals or research institutions to submit an organized panel on the themes of the conference. Each panel should include 3-4 papers and the panel organizer should also present a paper in the panel.
To submit a panel proposal, please fill out the online cover sheet for a panel submission. In addition each panel participant should fill in the individual paper application (the cover sheet and abstract).
To submit a proposal for an organized panel, click here.
Deadline for submissions is September 6, 2016. Selection decisions are announced by October 6, 2016.
Each applicant may present only one submission. Multiple submissions by the same author(s) will result in the immediate disqualification of the applicant.
Selected participants are required to submit their completed papers by February 2, 2017. If the paper is not received by this deadline, the participant will be removed from the conference program. All conference abstracts will be posted on the ACSS website and made publicly available, and paper presenters may be asked to revise their abstracts for posting. In addition, the full conference papers will be made available to all the conference participants on a password protected webpage or Dropbox as well as on a USB distributed at the conference.
After the conference the ACSS may invite a number of papers for inclusion in one or more publications, which may include translation of the paper into different languages. Individuals are free to accept or decline to take part in these planned publications.
Conference presentations should be 15-20 minutes per paper and may be presented in Arabic, English or French. Simultaneous translation from English and French into Arabic and from Arabic to English will be provided. The conference site will be A/V equipped. Additional details on the composition of individual panels will be available after selection decisions are announced on October 6, 2016.
Paper presenters will be covered fully for economy-class travel and accommodation costs. The ACSS will provide up to three-four nights’ accommodations, based on flight availability and travel itineraries.
If not selected to present a paper at the conference, please note that applicants are encouraged to register to attend the conference, which will be open to the public.
Questions? Please contact: pa@theacss.org.
To APPLY click "Further official information" below and fill the online form.
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