Ethno-Politics and Intervention in a Globalized World

International Conference: ‘Ethno-Politics and Intervention in a Globalized World’
Exeter Centre for Ethno-Political Studies, University of Exeter, UK
27-30 June 2010

A cutting-edge, multi-disciplinary conference exploring the role of ethnicity and nationalism in the 21st century

Conference convenor: Professor Gareth Stansfield

Hardly a day goes by without a political or social manifestation of ethnicity crossing the headlines of international and national news. The conflict situations in Darfur, Iraq and Palestine; new state formations in the Balkans; issues of multiculturalism and security in Western cities; and the re-interpretation of historical memories and myths in places as far apart as Cornwall and Central Asia simultaneously point to the salience of ethnicity as a critical factor in today's complex world.

The Exeter Centre for Ethno-Political Studies (EXCEPS) is an exciting initiative which was established in 2007 following the award of a grant by the Leverhulme Trust to the University of Exeter. EXCEPS examines the role of ethnicity and nationalism in politics and conflict via a multi-disciplinary approach that brings together academics and practitioners from an array of fields. We will be holding our first international conference from 27-30 June 2010.

Gareth Evans, former head of the International Crisis Group, will provide the opening plenary.

Other speakers include:
Brendan O’Leary, University of Pennsylvania, USA;
Jennifer Medcalf, Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, UK;
Stefan Wolff, University of Nottingham, UK;
Cindy Skach, Harvard University, USA;
Rogelio Alonso, Universidad Juan Carlos Rey, Spain;
Nina Glick Schiller, University of Manchester, UK;
Jon Western, Mount Holyoke College, USA;
Gabi Pieterberg, UCLA, USA;
Richard Whitman, University of Bath, UK.

The conference will be organized around seven sub-themes covering different aspects of the theme of ‘Ethno-Politics and Intervention in a Globalized World’. These sub-themes are:

• Foreign Intervention in Ethnic and Ethno-National Conflicts
  
• Regional Security Organisations and the Regulation of Violent Ethno-Political Conflict
  
• Culture and Memory in Reconciliation Processes
  
• Questioning Ethno-Politics: Diasporic Political Cultures, Subjectivities and Spaces
  
• Contemporary Issues in the Middle East
  
• Violent Radicalisation and Terrorism in the Ethno-Politicised World
  
• Mechanisms for Managing Ethnic Conflict: Secession, Autonomy, Elections

For further information, please go to the EXCEPS conference website:
http://centres.exeter.ac.uk/exceps/events/conference.html. Any questions can be directed to the sub-theme convenors. To submit a proposal for a paper or a panel, please send an abstract of maximum 500 words to exceps-conference@exeter.ac.uk by 15 March 2010.

Please indicate clearly in your application which sub-theme you would like it to be considered for. Successful applicants will be notified by 31 March 2010.

Dr Annemarie Peen Rodt, Research Fellow
Exeter Centre for Ethno-Political Studies (EXCEPS)
Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies
Stocker Road, University of Exeter
Exeter EX4 4ND, United Kingdom
Email: a.p.rodt@exeter.ac.uk