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CONFERENCES: CFP-The Obama Effect, Middleburg, The Netherlands

Call for Papers

The Obama Effect: Transatlantic Perspectives Past and Future

20-23 October 2010

Organisers:

Roosevelt Study Center and Middelburg Center for Transatlantic Studies,
Middelburg, The Netherlands

Description

Since the end of the Cold War the transatlantic relationship has come
under some strain. The loss of a common enemy in the Soviet Union has
raised the profile of economic and political disputes rather than common
ground. 9/11, Madrid, and London have demonstrated a terrorist threat
and led to greater levels of security cooperation, but this has not fed
into bringing Americans and Europeans closer together culturally or
psychologically. The two terms of President George W. Bush seemed to
indicate at best a sense of 'transatlantic drift' and at worst a growing
divergence of interests and attitudes on both sides of the Atlantic.
Both Europe ('old' and 'new') and North America (United States, Canada,
and Mexico) were divided on major issues of foreign policy and future
direction. Issues demanding cooperative effort were left unresolved:
nuclear proliferation, climate change, conflicts in Iraq and
Afghanistan, the challenge of global capitalism to popular government,
and competition for energy resources. The relevancy and efficacy of
existing cooperative arrangements were openly challenged: the Convention
Against Torture, the Geneva Conventions, the International Criminal
Court, indeed the UN system itself.  In the face of this, the election
of Obama means for many an era of renewed discourse on a range of
topics-such as human rights, the rule of law, and social religious and
racial tolerance-that promise to enhance the transatlantic relationship.


With this in the background, this conference seeks to explore both the
past and the future of the transatlantic relationship by using the
election of President Obama as a potential turning point in North
American-European relations.

On a small scale, what does Obama mean for transatlantic relations in
the political, security, economic, and cultural realms?

On a larger scale, how should we understand the meaning of the Obama
administration within two decades of transatlantic relations since the
end of the Cold War?

Taking a longer perspective, which historical precedents from the
twentieth century can help us frame our understanding of political
transitions as that represented by Obama?

While the conference will focus on the post-Cold War period, papers,
poster sessions, and panels related to the above background issues and
themes are welcome that

1)      develop historically-based arguments;
2)      concentrate on examining and tracking bilateral transatlantic
relations;
3)      compare the different forms that US military, political,
economic, legal, and cultural influence takes (and has taken) abroad, be
it as a decisive factor or only as a contribution to driving change
elsewhere;

4)      investigate specific themes over time that have had differing
impacts and drawn differing responses from various nations in the
region.

The conference welcomes post-graduate students as well as more
established scholars, and aims to be a forum for disciplines ranging
across the social sciences and the arts.


Proposals

Submit proposals online at the address below <http://> . Each submission
should include a 500-word proposal of the paper that is to be considered
for presentation and a 200-word biographical sketch of the author(s),
along with other relevant information included on the submission form. 

The deadline for submitting proposals is 1 April 2010.  Rolling
acceptance will be practiced, but authors will be notified the status of
their proposal no later than 1 May 2010.  Updated information will be
available on the conference website.  The lingua franca of the
conference is English.

Along with the presentation of accepted papers, the conference will
feature speakers representing diverse views on transatlantic studies and
relations. 


Organisation

Conference Website:

http://www.transatlanticstudies.org/index.php/conference?task=view
<http://www.transatlanticstudies.org/index.php/conference?task=view>

The main organizing institutions are the Middelburg Center for
Transatlantic Studies and the Roosevelt Study Center, NL, with support
from the University of Central Missouri, USA, the University of South
Dakota, USA, and the Roosevelt Academy, NL. 

Contact:

Prof. Don Wallace at wallace@ucmo.edu <mailto:wallace@ucmo.edu>

Prof. Giles Scott-Smith at g.scott-smith@zeeland.nl
<mailto:g.scott-smith@zeeland.nl> 

or see the conference website for additional information. 



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