IDEAS

INTERDISCIPLINARY CONFERENCE ON

EUROPEAN ADVANCED STUDIES

Institut d'études européennes, Université libre de Bruxelles

May 11-13, 2022Brussels, Belgium

Organised & hosted byInstitut d'études européennes of the

Université libre de BruxellesMay 11-13, 2022Brussels, Belgium

IDEAS INTERDISCIPLINARY

CONFERENCE ON EUROPEANADVANCED STUDIES

CALL FOR PAPERS IDEAS CONFERENCE

‘(Dis)Integration from an(in)equality perspective’

‘(Dis)Integration from an(in)equality perspective’

ContactIDEAS.IEE@ulb.be

The biennial Interdisciplinary conference onEuropean Advanced Studies (IDEAS) is a three-dayscientific event organized by the Institut d’étudeseuropéennes of the Université libre de Bruxelles (IEE-ULB) in collaboration with the Institute for EuropeanStudies of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (IES-VUB) andthe Politics and International Studies Department atthe University of Warwick (PaIS-UoW).

Centred on the notion of ‘Solidarities’, the first twoeditions of the conference were dedicated toEuropean and Transatlantic solidarity in May 2017,and European solidarity in June 2019. Due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, the third conference originallyset for 2021 was rescheduled to be hosted in 2022. Asa result, the next edition will take place in Brusselsfrom May 11 to 13, 2022 and will be entitled(Dis)Integration from an (in)equality perspective.

Inequality has many facets which test a wide range ofinstitutions and policies associated with the EU.Increasingly, it has emerged as one of the central andtransversal concerns shared across EU institutionsand national public opinions.

Debates surrounding equality and social justicewithin the EU raise questions such as: equality ofwhat (e.g. outcome, opportunities, well-being, …),between whom (e.g. nationals, European citizens,non-EU nationals, individuals, …), guaranteed bywhat institutions (e.g. European, national, local, …),and through which means (e.g. judicial, political,fiscal, corporate, …).

Academic and political debates addressing(in)equality and (dis)integration have gainedmomentum following both the 2008 financial crisis,and the current COVID-19 pandemic. Increasingly,broader debates surrounding equality, non-discrimination and solidarity are homing in on thedistinctive role of the European level. The IDEASconference will be a forum to present and discusscutting-edge research investigating inequality inrelationship with European politics and policies. Itwill bring together scholars interested in how the EUhas been a driver of inequality or, on the contrary,how it has attempted to tackle them in a number ofpolicy domains.

Subject to the evolution of the sanitary situation, theconference will take place in person, and whileregistration will be mandatory, participation will befree of charge.

About the conference

IDEAS INTERDISCIPLINARY

CONFERENCE ON EUROPEANADVANCED STUDIES

Scientific committee(in alphabetical order)

Ilke ADAM (VUB), Emmanuelle BRIBOSIA (IEE-ULB), Chloé BRIERE (IEE-ULB), George CHRISTOU (UoW),

Ramona COMAN (IEE-ULB), Amandine CRESPY (IEE-ULB), Frederik PONJAERT (IEE-ULB), Florian TRAUNER (IES-VUB), Jozefien VAN CAENEGHEM (IEE-ULB)

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ContactIDEAS.IEE@ulb.be

Submit your abstracts

The conference is structured around 10 topics whichwill help structure the overall focus of the conferenceon ‘(Dis)Integration from an (in)equality perspective’.Scholars interested in presenting their researchdealing with inequality and the EU at the IDEASconference under one of the 10 topics listed beloware invited to submit a 250-word abstract. Whensubmitting an abstract, applicants will have tospecify under which of the 10 topics they wish tointroduce their proposal. Each topic focusses on agiven set of substantive challenges associated with(in)equality and EU policies. Both the internal (intra-EU) and external (global) dimensions of saidchallenges fall within the scope of a topic.

About the call for papers

IDEAS INTERDISCIPLINARY

CONFERENCE ON EUROPEANADVANCED STUDIES

The online submission system is now open and will beaccessible via the IEE-ULB website (www.iee-ulb.eu).The ultimate deadline for submission will be October 20,2021 (5:00 pm CET). Notifications of acceptance will becommunicated by the end of November 2021, with draftpapers expected to be submitted by April 24, 2022.

Depending on the number of papers withheld foreach topic, one or more panels will be organized.Papers will be selected by the conference’s academicjury based on relevance and quality. Following theconference, the best papers will be selected for apeer-reviewed publication.

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ContactIDEAS.IEE@ulb.be

Submitted paper abstracts must fit one of the following broader themes

Topic 1: Europe and the Concept of Inequality The concepts of equality and non-discrimination arementioned and discussed in laws, legislations, andpolicies, and yet remain the object of debates.Inequality, often used in public discourse, is even lessunderstood. This topic aims at examining the variousunderstandings these concepts can receive andwelcomes papers addressing them or one of themfrom various disciplinary angles.

Topic 2: EU Governance and InequalityThis topic examines how European institutions frameinequality and put this issue on the political agenda.It focuses on inter/institutional debates and policyinstruments designed to address this fast-burningissue. It seeks to shed light on the extent to which theapproach followed by the EU institutions and theinstruments put in place are effective in combatinginequality.

Topic 3: Unequal Access to theCommon Market The common market provides equal and fair accessto operators across all EU regions. However, overtime, barriers of a new nature are growing. Papersunder this topic will focus on two questions: whichnew issues are emerging? And how to uphold andenhance equal access to the common market?

Topic 4: Unequal Access to Welfare StatesThe role of welfare states is to tackle social inequalityby ensuring an equal access to rights and resources.European integration has disrupted in various waysthe national “boundaries of welfare”. The purpose istherefore to examine the interactions between theEuropean Union and welfare states and/or socialcitizenship by looking at relevant political,institutional or historical dynamics.

Topic 5: Inequality in the Area ofFreedom, Security & Justice The Area of Freedom, Security and Justiceencompasses policies that may play a crucial role inredressing inequalities, but they also risk fosteringinequalities. Of particular interest are ‘unequal entry’in terms of access to Member State territories forthird-country nationals and the politics of travelmonitoring; as well as ‘unequal justice’ in terms of theprotection of fundamental rights and access to thecourts. Overall, the topic will examine the gendered,socioeconomic and racial inequalities manifested bysaid challenges.

Topic 6: Digital Divide & Disparitiesin Information Literacy Papers under this topic should investigate whetherand to which extent online political informationabout EU politics and policies duplicates oraggravates existing divides and disparities “in reallife” and/or creates new ones. Proposals are invited todiscuss conceptual frameworks and empirical casestudies allowing to assess the autonomy and agencyof citizens, interest groups and public institutions in atransformed media and information landscape.

List of topics

IDEAS INTERDISCIPLINARY

CONFERENCE ON EUROPEANADVANCED STUDIES

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ContactIDEAS.IEE@ulb.be

Submit your abstracts

Submitted paper abstracts must fit one of the following broader themes

Topic 7: Unequal Access toEnvironmental Justice Access to justice is a legal right for individuals andgroups affected by environmental decisions. Thistopic will explore how environmental risks andbenefits are distributed across society, the multipleways in which questions of inequality - i.e. inredistribution, recognition, transformation andparticipation - shape access to environmental justicein theory and/or in practice, and the possiblesolutions to address environmental injustices andfoster an integrated approach of social-ecologicalprotection.

Topic 8: Social Inequality in Public Health Social inequalities in health are an important andurgent topic for health research and action in Europe.Key is understanding to what extent and by whatprocesses the differences in health status betweenindividuals and between groups result either fromdifferences in social status structuring access tohealth, or from other forms of direct or indirectdiscrimination. This topic proposes to specificallyunpack the role of EU policies and analyse theinnovative actions implemented in Europe aimed atreducing social inequalities in health.

Topic 9: Intersectionality inEuropean politics Inequality pertaining to origins, belief, gender,sexual orientation, age, etc. have been at the heartof divisive debates within European societies as theexistence of structural inequality and discriminationhave been brought to the fore. At the same time, theEU has pursued its long-established anti-discrimination policy, often struggling for legitimacyand effectiveness. Intersectionality has contributedto shed a new light alongside more traditionalapproaches in social sciences. Papers may addressthe contentious politics of intersectionality in theEuropean multi-level arena or/and develop legal,historical or sociological analyses of EU anti-discrimination policy.

Topic 10: Inequality in EU external policies The European Union as an international actoroccupies a crucial place in addressing inequalitiesbetween regions, but also in reducing economic,social, political, and environmental inequalities inother regions. The EU has developed a set of policytools, notably through its development cooperationpolicy, dedicated action plans or its participation ininternational initiatives and instruments. Yet, it mayalso foster these inequalities in its foreign policy, asstrategic preferences and choices lead to critics. Thetopic proposes to examine the multi-facetedinsertion of inequality among various EU externalpolicies.

List of topics

IDEAS INTERDISCIPLINARY

CONFERENCE ON EUROPEANADVANCED STUDIES

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ContactIDEAS.IEE@ulb.be

Submit your abstracts