BELGRADE SECURITY FORUM 2014: CALL FOR PAPERS
The organizers of the Belgrade Security Forum are pleased to invite security scholars and researchers to submit proposal papers for the fourth Belgrade Security Forum (BSF) to be held on September 30 – October 2, 2014.
Open Call
The organizers of the Belgrade Security Forum are pleased to invite security scholars and researchers to submit proposal papers for the fourth Belgrade Security Forum (BSF) to be held on September 30 – October 2, 2014. BSF is the biggest international security conference in Southeast Europe, each year bringing together several hundred top level policy and decision makers, NGO leaders, experts, academics and journalists. Belgrade Security Forum is co-organized by the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy, Belgrade Fund for Political Excellence and the European Movement in Serbia. The general topic of this year’s Forum is “Europe 2014: Closure and/or New Beginning?” Belgrade Security Forum is a combined event divided into two parts: an academic event on the first day, and a policy event that takes place over the following two days. The theme of the academic event is “Usable Past, Collective Memories and International Security”. All accepted papers will be presented during the academic event (September 30). The aim of the academic part of the conference is to feed scholarly insights into the policy event (October 1-2) of the Forum.
Rationale
The year 2014 marks the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War. In many parts of the world, however, the memory of the Great War is not merely “historical”. To use Maurice Halbwachs’ term, the memory is “collective” in that it still plays an important role in shaping of contemporary political identities. This is why bitter “memory wars” are being fought, in the Balkans and beyond, about causes and consequences of the First World War. Such a historical context represents a good opportunity to reflect on the role of collective memories in world politics. Instead of taking historians’ perspective of looking at how past events have influenced the present, we are interested in understanding how the past is used and misused in informing the present. More specifically, we will discuss how collective memories are implicated in the construction of contemporary security representations and practices. We welcome all contributions that work at the intersection of international relations, security studies and memory studies in order to shed light on the importance of collective memories for theory and practice of international security. Specific attention will be paid to the following issues:
-the use of historical analogies in security policy making as well as the culture of remembrance by and within security institutions – the military, intelligence services and police forces.
-the implications of historicity and memorialization for securitization processes, security dilemmas and security community building;
-the role of new media and social networks in the (re)construction of collective memory and its implications for national and international security.
Application process
Participants will be selected based on the quality of their application. All submissions are required to include the applicant’s CV (up to 2 pages) attached to his/her paper proposal (up to 400 words). Submissions should be made electronically to jrs@fpn.bg.ac.rs entitled “Call for paper proposals for BSF 2014”. The applicants should clearly state whether they would like to be considered for the accommodation and travel grant. Incomplete applications will be excluded from our review. The organizers will financially support travel and accommodation expenses of selected participants on a needs basis. Following the conference all presented papers will be peer-reviewed for publication in the Journal of Regional Security.
The deadline for submissions is 15 May 2014. All successful candidates will be contacted by 5 June 2014.
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Impressions from the Belgrade Security Forum 2013:
“The Belgrade Security Forum is an exceptional opportunity to listen to high-level experts, academics, and practitioners in the field of European security providing valuable insights into what they know best. There are numerous occasions for discussion and networking, both in the panel sessions and during the breaks. The academic portion of the conference is highly selective, involving researchers at the cutting-edge of this important field of study. The conceptual and theoretical debate even spills over into special events for graduate students, like the innovative Methods Cafe. BSF makes every effort to ensure that participants from diverse backgrounds are brought together for a fruitful debate in a highly productive atmosphere.”
Dr. Mai’a K. Davis Cross, Senior Researcher, ARENA Centre for European Studies
