Dear colleagues, we cordially invite you to submit panels or papers for two sections organized by the environmental politics standing group of the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR). The sections will be part of the next ECPR General Conference in Glasgow, 3-6 September 2014. The section themes are: "Politics and Governance in the Anthropocene" "Environmental Politics"
Please see below for submission instructions and for the section abstracts. For the 'anthropocene' section we also provide brief abstracts of five panels that address overarching research themes. But please feel free to submit additional panels also for that section, if you prefer. We hope this will be of interest to many of you, since the framing of the two sections provides ample opportunities for submissions on a variety of environmental governance topics across sectors and scales. All the best, Brian Doherty, Philipp Pattberg, Hannes Stephan, and Fariborz Zelli ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dr. Fariborz Zelli, Assistant Professor Department of Political Science / Statsvetenskapliga institutionen Lund University / Lunds universitet Box 52 SE-221 00 Lund Sweden tel : + 46 46 222 47 64 fax : + 46 46 222 40 06 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Submission Instructions If you like to submit a panel or paper, please note that you have to do so through the official ECPR website (not via e-mail to me): http://www.ecpr.eu/ . You also need to have (or create) a MyECPR account. After logging in, follow the links "events", "general conference" and then, under 'Glasgow 2014', "propose a panel" or "propose a paper". When filling in your abstracts and details, you can then choose one of our sections from the first drop down menu. The deadline for submissions is 15th February 2014. For detailed submission guidelines see also http://ecpr.eu/Filestore/Files/Conferences/General/2014GlasgowGuidelinesAndDeadlines.pdf SECTION No. S028 - ENVIRONMENTAL POLITICS Section Chairs: Brian Doherty, University of Keele Hannes Stephan, University of Stirling This section is designed to gather a series of eight panels focusing on current issues in and approaches to environmental politics. Given the prominent position occupied by environmental thematics within public policy agendas, regulatory systems, social movement mobilisations, and systems of political competition, we expect to attract a diverse range of panels from scholars working throughout the academic community and across political science disciplines. We will particularly encourage panels which develop a comparative analytical framework in their rationale, and expect proposals reflecting both the more conventional core interests in the study of environmental politics as well as more contemporary areas of academic enquiry. These are expected to include environmental science and public policy; Green political theory; Green parties; environmental issues within electoral systems; environmental mobilization, protest and civil society; environmental policy and regulation; policy learning and policy implementation across political systems; sustainable development; the environment within international institutions and governance regimes; and the construction of 'green' scientific and political discourses. The overall aim of the section is for all panels to draw together conceptual expertise and rigorous empirical analysis in order to explore, challenge and re-configure theories surrounding environmental problems, both new and old. The ECPR Environmental Politics Standing Group has over 300 members at present and its sections have been vibrant and over-subscribed at all seven of the ECPR General conferences to date. SECTION No. S049 - POLITICS AND GOVERNANCE IN THE ANTHROPOCENE Section Chairs: Philipp Pattberg, VU University Amsterdam Fariborz Zelli, Lund University Politics and Governance in the Anthropocene The term anthropocene denotes a new geological epoch in planetary history, one that is characterized by the unprecedented impact of human activities on the Earth's ecosystems. Scientists today see mounting evidence that the entire earth system now operates well outside safe boundaries. Human societies must therefore change course and steer away from critical tipping points that might lead to rapid and irreversible change, while ensuring sustainable livelihoods for all. But while the natural sciences have advanced their understanding of the drivers and processes of global change considerably over the last two decades, the social sciences lag behind in developing and implementing a coherent research paradigm to address this fundamental challenge of politics and governance in the anthropocene. The key question from a social science perspective is how to organize the co-evolution of societies and their surrounding environment, in other words, how to develop effective and equitable governance solutions for today's global transformations. This section invites panels to close this crucial research gap, in particular with regards to the following 5 overarching research themes: (i) the role and relevance of institutions, both formal and informal as well as international and transnational, for governing in the anthropocene; (ii) the question of agency and actorness in addressing planetary challenges; (iii) the relevance of normative concerns in governing in the anthropocene, including questions about fairness, equity, justice and allocation; (iv) the role and relevance of accountability and other democratic principles for governing in the anthropocene; (v) the challenge of adapting societies at different scales to global change. Abstracts of Panels Institutions for the Anthropocene Panel Chair: Kacper Sulecki, Hertie School of Governance The panel addresses the emergence, design and effectiveness of governance systems and their integration across scales levels. How does the increasing institutional fragmentation of environmental governance impact on effectiveness and legitimacy? Which discursive shifts and societal transformations are reflected in this institutional architecture? How do transnational and informal institutions contribute to governing the anthropocene? Agency in the Anthropocene Panel Chair: Agni Kalfagianni, Institute for Environmental Studies, VU University Amsterdam Submissions to this panel scrutinize the influence, roles and responsibilities of non-state actors, such as business and non-profit organizations. This includes the ways in which authority is granted to these agents, and how it is exercised. And also: how can we evaluate the relevance of these agents in governing the anthropocene? Allocation and Access in the Anthropocene Panel Panel Chair: Karin Bäckstrand, Lund University The novel character of earth system transformation puts questions of justice, fairness, and equity in a new light. How can we reach interdisciplinary conceptualizations and definitions of access to goods and their allocation? What (overarching) principles underlie allocation and access? Which role do or should inter-spatial and inter-generational concepts of agency play here? Accountability in the Anthropocene Panel Chair: Aarti Gupta, Wageningen University We need to understand the democratic quality of governing the anthropocene. What are the sources of accountability and legitimacy in a changing governance architecture? What are the effects of different forms and degrees of accountability and legitimacy for the performance of governance systems? How can mechanisms of transparency ensure accountable and legitimate environmental governance? Adapting to the Anthropocene Panel Chair: Dave Huitema, Institute for Environmental Studies, VU University Amsterdam Earth system governance must respond to the inherent uncertainties in human and natural systems. It must combine stability to ensure long-term governance solutions with flexibility to react quickly to new findings and developments. But what are the politics of adaptiveness? Which attributes of governance systems enhance capacities to adapt? -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "gep-ed" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
