One peculiarity of Swiss studies in international elations is the relative scarceness of critical research, including, for example, social constructivism, critical theory, feminist theory, historical materialism, post-colonial theory. To address this peculiarity the “Critical Voices in Swiss IR” annual conferences were launched in 2008, aiming to bring together the small but growing community of Swiss scholars undertaking broadly defined ‘critical’ research in international studies, to promote a dialogue on the particularity of Swiss International Studies, and to establish a network of scholars in International Studies in Switzerland undertaking such research. These annual
conferences feature keynote lectures by internationally renowned scholars, thematic panel sessions and a roundtable on the peculiarity of Swiss International Studies. The 2010 conference is dedicated to critical appraisals of the concept of global governance, which is widely used in international studies. Scholars from various theoretical backgrounds have criticised this concept and suggested modifications or alternatives, such as Foucauldian notions of governmentality and bio-power, neo-Gramscian understandings of world orders and hegemony, or feminist analyses of spheres of production and reproduction. The aim of this conference is to address the question
whether, and to what extent, the concept of global governance is useful to analyse global affairs and global transformations in today’s world. The roundtable will address the potential significance of Switzerland for critical studies on global governance. The main sponsor for the 2010 conference is the Swiss Network for International Studies (SNIS), co-sponsors are the CRII of the University of Lausanne, the CSS of the ETH Zurich, and the Political Science Institute of the University of Lucerne. Confirmed speakers include Thomas Biersteker (IHEID), Jean-Christophe Graz (UNIL), Elizabeth Prügl (IHEID).
For this international conference we invite paper abstracts that deal with the following issues:
1. Theoretical papers critically analysing the global governance concept and working with alternative approaches, such as Foucauldian, Neo-Gramscian, and Gender Studies.
2. Empirical papers engaging critically with specific policy fields of global governance, such as international migration, environment, health, security, finance, trade, etc.
Date and venue: 10-11 June 2009, Institute of Political Science, University of Lucerne
Submission of abstracts: We look forward to receive paper proposals from scholars studying international issues from various disciplinary fields, such as anthropology, economics, history, law, sociology and political science, by email in the form of an abstract of no more than 250 words.
Deadline for paper proposals: 26 February 2010
