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Call for Papers Theme: The Future of Governance in Africa Subtitle: Limits, Challenges and Opportunities for Participatory Citizenship Type: Interdisciplinary Conference Institution: Bayreuth International Graduate School of African Studies (BIGSAS), University of Bayreuth Location: Bayreuth (Germany) Date: 5.–6.10.2017 Deadline: 30.4.2017 __________________________________________________ Contemporary debates on governance have attracted tolerance to the different ways in which the term is applied. The wide-ranging problematics of governance is viewed from the perspective of power structures in society, the complex interactions between governors and the governed. Taken from whichever direction, the discourse of governance normally leads to a ground-zero; the mantra ‘good-governance’ or democratic governance, which carries certain connotations - i.e. certain kinds of practices, relations and interactions between the citizenry and the governors - the ideal make-up of government. Michel Foucault defines government as the ‘conduct of conduct’ which on the one hand implies the existence of power (to conduct/to guide) both with the citizens and those that govern; and on the other hand, reciprocation in the exercise of this power between the population and the constituent—the state. It is in such reciprocity that citizens demonstrate their pre-given powers to, among others, make choices on government; the choice, for instance, of who governs, for how long, and by what means. The recent political waves in Europe - Brexit, the Italian referendum and the subsequent resignation of former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi - and in America - the triumph of Donald Trump, and the demonstrations against his policies - are examples of the exercise of the power of the citizen to not only choose, but compel leaders to take certain directions - in other words, conduct the conduct of leaders in managing different affairs of society. In Africa, the beginning of the 1990s saw the devotion of attention to the question of governance, following the World Bank (1989) report that underscored the problem of development in Africa to be governmental. It is from this that the mantra ‘good- governance’ deluged into frameworks that defined typologies of government, treated by the so-called international community, as conditions for development aid or otherwise, sanctions. In this mantra, the concert in governance between governments and the citizenry is emphasized, embroidered with the term ‘participatory governance’. Yet, Africa continues to display heterodoxies in ensuring productive citizen- participation. This has quite often been reduced to participation in electoral processes, whose outcomes are, in some cases predictable, to fulfill certain conditions. With consideration to the broad problem of limited participatory governance in Africa, the debate on governance in the broader sense, and citizens’ participation remains arguably at large on the continent. It is compelling to ask: Should citizens’ participation be limited to attending a one-off periodic event of exercising the political right of choosing leaders? Or should participatory citizenship be exercised in different realms of government? Intrigued by these, and many more related questions, a group of Junior Fellows of the Bayreuth International Graduate School of African Studies (BIGSAS) under the BIGSAS Workgroup Governance in Africa (GiA) are organising a conference that seeks to bring together experts from various disciplines in academia, researchers, graduate students, development practitioners and politicians, among others, to divulge what we construe as the limited scope of participatory governance in modern day governance in Africa. Contributions to this conference should address the problematic dialectics of citizens’ participations. Under the theme ‘The Future of Governance in Africa: Limits, Challenges and Opportunities for Participatory Citizenship’ the conference aims to answer a broad range of questions in attempt to locate the future of Africa in the discourse of participatory governance. The two-day conference is scheduled for the 5 and 6 of October 2017 at the University of Bayreuth. The conference will comprise of an opening session with keynote presentations on the topic of citizen participation in governance. This will be followed by several plenary sessions which will provide an opportunity for the presentation of papers related to the conference theme, with focus on sub-themes to allow for an in-depth examination of the various dimensions of the conference theme. We welcome abstracts from potential participants for this event that will constitute several experts. It is also a special opportunity for graduate students from disciplines such as political science, governance, political geography, sociology, development studies, anthropology, economics, and related social science disciplines to discuss some of their research works, as well as established professors and researchers in related fields to share their expertise and thoughts with the upcoming academics. Submission guidelines Abstracts not exceeding 300 words should be submitted by 30 April, 2017, accompanied with a short CV of the potential speaker to [email protected]. Selected speakers at the conference will be notified by 30 June, and full papers (between 5.000 and 6.000 words) shall be received until 30 October. The conference will be in English. Please, indicate the following on your abstract: - Your institutional affiliation and contact details - Tentative or final title of your paper Funding There is a limited budget to cover for accommodation and transport, excluding lunch and dinner. Publication The output of the conference is a publication of papers. In this regard, participants are requested to prepare abstracts, and make plans to develop complete publishable article-length paper, between 5.000 and 6.000 words. For more inquiries, please contact: [email protected] Conference website: http://www.bigsas.uni-bayreuth.de/en/download_files/news_downloads/Call-for-Papers_Conference_The-Future-of-Governance-in-Africa.pdf __________________________________________________ InterPhil List Administration: https://interphil.polylog.org InterPhil List Archive: https://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ __________________________________________________
