Aston University and University of York will be hosting a collaborative workshop in June they are currently looking for participants.
The workshop will be on European and Regional (Dis)Integration in Comparative Perspective at Aston University on 21st June 2019, funded by the Jean Monnet Centre for Excellence and organised by the Aston Centre for Europe and the Department for Politics and International Relations, and the University of York, Department of Sociology.
Workshop Abstract:
The European Union (EU) is considered the most successful and developed example of regional integration in the international system. The prolonged period of peace, cooperation and economic growth since its establishment has helped inspire similar regional integration efforts around the globe. In recent years, a number of internal and external pressures have challenged EU efficacy and the process of integration, represented by Brexit, the Eurozone crisis and the struggle to effectively manage the influx of migrants from North Africa and the Middle East. The difficulty in managing recalcitrant members, such as Hungary and Poland, also highlights the strength of national identities within the broader, regional superstructure. It is therefore important to recognise integration as a two-way process, as disruptions may precipitate disintegrative pressures. Important lessons can be learned from how the institutions of the EU manage pressures in both directions. The international system is currently in a state of flux, under pressure from a variety of challenges posed by enhanced globalisation, inequality, conflict and resurgent nationalism. The purpose of this workshop is to consider the ways in which the EU and its member states have pushed for integration, while also managing disintegrative pressures. Papers on these pressures will be placed in dialogue with papers examining similar processes in other regional groupings, such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the African Union (AU), and the Organisation of American States (OAS). We are currently in discussion with Bristol University Press as a possible publisher of the workshop papers. We are also open to possibilities of a special issue.
Workshop Themes:
• EU external relations and foreign policy
• EU and ASEAN comparative regionalism
• Africa Union-EU integration and cooperation
• European integration and Europeanization
• Integration and disintegration in Europe and Asia
Workshop Format:
The workshop will be composed of short presentations (10-15 minutes each), allowing for a discussion amongst participants and the audience.
For more information please contact Dr Laura Southgate and Dr Thomas O'Brien (University of York) at l.southgate@aston.ac.uk