Please consider the call for paper for the conference (below or attached)

Scope and questions of the Conferences:

We all are witnessing contradictory and complex tendencies in the world we live in. It is becoming fragmented in many spheres. Simultaneously global marketization, the continuing rise of transnational organisational forms, and super-national political unions suggest unification and homogenization. The global tendencies increasingly make our world interconnected and interdependent. These interdependencies call for the greater coordination, integration and cohesion but they can hardly be taken for granted. A corporate-driven policy agenda and the one-sided distorted economic views have deepened inequality and undermined social stability in regions across the world. It was not just the persistent patterns of huge inequalities between different parts of society but also the growing frustration that political systems have become unresponsive to the concerns of people suffering from the current state of affairs.

The contradictory tendencies refer to many aspects of social life and rise many questions. The EU has remained suspended between rhetorical commitments to integrate and real world action which demonstrates that politics remains, in the eyes of the large majority, properly within the nation state. Mass migration and the related cross-cultural encounters can generate productive and mutually beneficial inter-cultural practices. However, it may be exploited to promote segregation, discrimination, fundamentalism, and extremism. At the same time most of Eastern Europe faces the problem of population drain from their countries.  

Do the changes bolster regional fragmentation? Is it a part of greater change, which one?  What actors or factors are driving these changes?

In what dimensions of social life we observe rising cohesion, and in what - rising fragmentation?  How do people feel solidarity and on what grounds? What are new divides arising? Are information technologies and digital revolution in this respect a decisive factor for more social integration or more fragmentation and new social divide? Can individualisation be seen as a basis for cohesion and solidarity or as a factor of atomisation and fragmentation?

Do we face now fundamental contradictions? Or may be we talk about illusive cohesion and illusive fragmentation?  How are social cohesion and fragmentation interrelated?  

And many other questions…

Contributions addressing these, and similar aspects of social transformations generating cohesion and/or fragmentation, are welcome. You may address Eastern and Central European societies and beyond, Eastern and Western societies, global North or global South, deal with broad comparative perspective, individual case studies, and apply a broad variety of theories, qualitative, quantitative and mixed research methods. 

Abstract, language, and submission:

The organizers invite theoretically or empirically grounded papers on the above topics. Special consideration will be given to empirically grounded papers, either comparative or country-based. The language of the abstracts, the papers and the conference will be English. Abstracts should be about 400 words, and should be accompanied by the name(s) of the author(s), his/her/their affiliation(s) and e-mail(s).

The processes of abstract submission and acceptance will be managed using the online platform. It will be additional letter how it is arranged.

Important Deadlines:

Deadline for submitting paper proposals (max. 400 words) – May 30, 2018

Notification of paper acceptance – June 15, 2018

Deadline for registration – June 30, 2018

Conference Fees:

Regular fee – EUR 45

Discounted fee for ESA and SNC MOST members – EUR 30

Discounted fee for PhD students– EUR 20

Accommodation and Travel: Will be covered by the participants.

Meals will be provided.

Conference venue:

School of Advanced Social Studies / Fakulteta za uporabne družbene študije v Novi Gorici,

Gregorčičeva 19, 5000 Nova Gorica, Slovenia

Contact:  Этот e-mail адрес защищен от спам-ботов, для его просмотра у Вас должен быть включен Javascript

 If you have any questions do not hesitate to contact us. 

 with best wishes, 

Elena Danilova ( Этот e-mail адрес защищен от спам-ботов, для его просмотра у Вас должен быть включен Javascript )

Matej Makarovic ( Этот e-mail адрес защищен от спам-ботов, для его просмотра у Вас должен быть включен Javascript )

Arkadiusz Peisert ( Этот e-mail адрес защищен от спам-ботов, для его просмотра у Вас должен быть включен Javascript )