Deadline- 20 July 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.
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