FAO Postgraduate Members BISA - CfP BISA-JAIR Collaborative Panels

BRITISH INTERNATIONAL STUDIES ASSOCIATION (BISA) IN COOPERATION WITH JAPAN ASSOCIATION OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS (JAIR)BISA-JAIR COLLABORATIVE POSTGRADUATE PANELSBISA ANNUAL CONFERENCEUNIVERSITY OF LEICESTER, OADBY STUDENT VILLAGE, 14TH – 16TH DECEMBER 2009CALL FOR PAPERSPostgraduates make a valuable contribution to both the British International Studies Association (BISA) and the Japan Association of International Relations (JAIR). As part of a drive by both associations towards developing international research networks and providing presentation opportunities for postgraduate members, we are pleased to announce the inauguration of the BISA-JAIR collaborative postgraduate panels. Each panel will be made up of 4 postgraduate researchers; 2 members from each association. The panels will focus on the theoretical and empirical implications of the current global economic crisis and security environment.In the postwar period, Britain and Japan have both been heavily influenced by the United States, and academia is no exception. As a field of study, ‘American’ International Relations has been considered the mainstream, with research in the two countries attentive to what their American counterparts were doing. However, the last decade has seen a flourishing of ‘critical’ perspectives (e.g. Critical IPE or Critical Security Studies) more sceptical of both US hegemony and the intellectual mainstream that help sustain it. This has been evident in the growing critique of ‘neoliberalism’ or ‘unilateralism’ in the leading British and Japanese academic journals, both of which have been attached to the actions and ideology of the world’s superpower. Yet, implicitly or explicitly, these perspectives seem to take for granted the very existence of that hegemony, focusing its attention on the limitations of US foreign policy and/or of the American intellectual ‘mainstream’. With political-economic and intellectual power of the United States suffering a blow in the face of the global economic crisis and the ‘failure’ in Iraq, it seems appropriate for a critical self re-examination of the state of the field. The BISA-JAIR collaborative panels offer a unique opportunity to take stock of the intellectual development in Britain and Japan, and to explore new research agendas in a rapidly changing world.Panel 1: Post-America?: Rethinking Critical Perspectives Beyond US HegemonyWithin the context of the current global economic crisis and the ‘failure’ in Iraq, the first panel will examine how ‘critical’ perspectives in general and IPE and Security Studies in particular address emerging instability/insecurity. How would these ‘critical’ perspectives explain the current crises? What insights do they provide? What impacts do these ‘crises’ have on ‘critical’ perspectives? What do they tell us and what do they miss? Are we witnessing a post-American era or is it a false dawn? What role will ‘critical’ perspectives have in the future?Possible Themes:• Characteristics of a ‘post-American’ order• The role of IR theory in the making and unmaking of US hegemony• A re-assessment of critical perspectives• The demise of empires and historical lessons• Implications of US decline for Britain and JapanPanel 2: Exploring New Sites of Instability/Insecurity in the ‘Post-American’ WorldIn parallel to the theoretical examination, the second panel will take a more empirical turn seeking to locate new or renewed sites of instability/insecurity and their remedies in the possibly emerging ‘post-American’ world. What sources of instability/ insecurity are increasingly becoming apparent in the world today? Are these challenges a result of the ‘crisis’ in US economic and foreign policy? Or does it have a more structural origin? What are the roles of Britain and Japan in this newly emerging order? What are the avenues of cooperation between the two countries in the fight against instability/insecurity?Possible Themes:• Future of the dollar• Political economy of energy/stability of energy supplies• International monetary system and regulations• Politics of border management• Nuclear proliferation in the post-Iraq eraPlease send an abstract of no more than one page and a research profile/academic CV outlining your academic interests by 17 July 2009 to bisa-jair09@warwick.ac.uk. Please state which panel you are applying for.Conference waiver (Package G, worth £175) plus a travel grant of £150 will also be available for JAIR participants. To apply, send a brief statement of rationale along with a rough estimate of your travel costs with your abstract and research profile/ academic CV.For additional information, please visit http://www.bisa.ac.uk/ (Post Grad Section) or http://wwwsoc.nii.ac.jp/jair/index_en.html.