Conference: Leaving Europe’s Waiting Room. Overcoming the Crisis of EU Enlargement in the Western Balkans, Centre for Southeast European Studies, University of Graz, 9-11 November 2012‏

The Centre for Southeast European Studies, University of Graz in
cooperation with the European Fund for the Balkans, Österreichische
Gesellschaft für Europapolitik, Südosteuropa Gesellschaft and Europe Direct
Steiermark will host a three day conference on the state of EU enlargement
in Graz on the 9-11th November 2012. The goal of the conference is to
reflect whether EU enlargement in the Western Balkans is in crisis and will
include policy-led discussions on reinvigorating the EU enlargement process
and academic panels on specific obstacles in the enlargement process. An
edited collection of the best papers presented at the conference is planned
for 2013.

This conference will discuss the obstacles and approaches to accelerate and
reinvigorate the enlargement process. Instead of viewing enlargement as a
state fullfilling formal criteria, the conference will focus on how and if
the enlargement process can overcome “enlargement fatigue” and skepticism
towards membership of the Western Balkans in the EU to key aspects that the
enlargement process both hopes to overcome and which risk remaining an
obstacle for EU membership. The conference in particular seeks to give room
to young researchers who are able to contribute rich empirical work to the
discussion. As an interdisciplinary event, the conference will include
policy makers, lawyers, political scientists, sociologists and scholars
from other disciplines. The working language of the conference is English.

The organizers invite paper proposal for the conference. Researchers
interested in participating are asked to submit a 400 word abstract and CV
by 20 July 2012 to the following email address: florian.bieber at uni-graz.at.
Applicants are particularly encouraged to apply with papers on the
following thematic areas:



· Enlargement Fatigue in the EU? Causes and how to build support for
Enlargement.

· Making EU Enlargement Work--How to reinvigorate the accession process?

· EU Conditionality Before Membership: Membership Conditionality vs. Policy
Conditionality

· How to Break the Deadlock of Bilateral Disputes in the Western Balkans

· Regatta or Big Bang Model of Accession?

· Closing Difficult Chapters: Rule of Law and Judiciary Regional
Cooperation in the WB

· Global Economic Crisis and its Influence on the EU Enlargement



The authors of accepted proposals will be invited to submit draft version
of their papers of 6,000 to 9,000 words for circulation among participants
prior to the conference by October 20th 2012. The organizers of the
conference will cover accommodation and board as well as transport to and
from Graz for invited participants, conditional on the submission of the
draft paper by the deadline.

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*Centre for Southeast European Studies*

The Centre for Southeast European Studies was founded at the University of
Graz in 2008 as interdisciplinary forum for teaching and research, based on
the university-wide Southeastern Europe focus. The Centre runs a Joint
Degree MA program in Southeast European Studies and a PhD program in
Diversity Management and Governance, as well as organizing regular events
on the region. Its research focus in on contemporary Southeastern Europe,
including Europeanization, interethnic relations and democratization. Its
staff include political scientists, historians and lawyers and it
collaborates closely with other researchers at the University of Graz and
internationally. In 2012, among others, it is hosted a lecture by the
Croatian president Ivo Josipović and is organising a workshop of the
dynamics of social change in Southeastern Europe.

Website of the Centre for Southeast European Studies:
http://www.suedosteuropa.uni-graz.at/