Call for Papers

National and Transnational Crises and Conflicts in South-East Asia

June 19 & 20, 2009

The conference's aim is to support interdisciplinary study, research and networking activities between Austrian and non-Austrian scientists focusing on South-East Asia. Senior and junior researchers from all disciplinary backgrounds are invited to submit abstracts on the conference’s topic. Moreover, an open panel will offer graduate and postgraduate
students of different disciplines the opportunity to present their papers.

Theme of the Conference

Since their independence South-East Asian nations have grappled with numerous internal problems which have threatened both socio-economic development and nation-building. Social inequalities, urbanisation, rural exodus or ethnic conflicts are only some of these issues. In addition, there are regional challenges, such as climate change, food security, the current global financial crisis or China’s economic and political rise to power. These conflicts are transnational in nature, which is why the question arises whether they are capable of changing the traditional political primacy of sovereignty and non-interference in the domestic affairs of others in favour of increased cooperation and shared sovereignty. This conference consists of two thematic panels and one open panel.

Panel 1 National Crises and Conflicts

Briefly outlined, Panel 1 should deal with questions such as: what is perceived as a crisis and therewith adressed or 'forgotten'; how are crises perceived (e.g. as political, ethnical, religious, economical, tourist crisis) and what might
be reasons or implications of that; how are crises dealt with on a short or long-term basis and which principles prevail; what could future crises look like?

Panel 2 Transnational-regional Crises and Conflicts

Briefly outlined, Panel 2 aims at analytically positioning the national crises and conflicts into a transnationalregional context. Specific South-East Asian dimensions and differences to our Western perceptions and methods
regarding conflict resolution and prevention, especially with regard to humanitarian problems, are of particular interest. Similar to the first panel, core questions arise: which attributes must a national crisis meet in order to be considered a transnational threat; do governance mechanisms and institutions specific to the South-East Asian region exist to effectively deal with thoses crises and if yes, in what way do they operate or what are they lacking; does the new ASEAN Charter signal a departure from the, till now, sacrosanct principle of non-interference in internal affairs of others; who are the actors involved in the crises (governmental, non-governmental or others) and can additional actors be expected; what role do other regional (e.g. EU, SCO) and international organisations (e.g. UN, IMF) play in regard to crisis management (if they are allowed and wish to do so at all); what are the regional trends regarding conflict resolution: multilateral cooperation / regionalization or isolationism?

Panel 3 Open Panel

This panel offers researchers from all disciplines the opportunity to present papers related to South-East Asian
affairs.

Venue

The 4th Viennese Conference on South-East Asia will start on June 19, 2009, at 9:00 a.m. at the University of Vienna and close on June 20, evening time. Registration of participants will take place at 8:30 a.m. on the first day.
Participation at the conference is open to the public and free of charge.

Submissions

Paper proposals (max two A4 pages) and a focused up-to-date CV should be submitted by e-mail (publics@seas.at) until April 1, 2009. Presentation can be held in German or English, should not exceed 20 minutes and leave another 10 minutes for discussions in the plenum. In case a proposal is accepted, we kindly ask the authors to submit their conference paper (5,000 - 12,000 characters) until May 31, 2009. For further details, a more detailed Call for Papers and the latest updates on the Society of South-East Asian Studies (SEAS) and the Austrian Journal of South-East Asian Studies (ASEAS) please consult our website: http://www.seas.at or contact us via publics@seas.at