17th Annual Conference of the Hungarian Political Science Association May 19, 2011

European political structures are facing new challenges. The Lisbon Treaty, after so many setbacks, has come into force in a period when the economic crisis has threatened the EU’s most widely known project, the Eurozone. The effective coordination of national economic policies appears to be more necessary than ever, but it is unclear what new forms of cooperation will emerge among governments, community institutions and markets. Enlargement continues to pose a challenge, while the integration of the new members is, in many respects, still rather a hope than a reality. The EU provides economic and political stability in its close neighborhood, but failure to increase its competitiveness raises questions about its global relevance. The political and academic debates concerning the “democratic deficit” focus the attention on the issue of legitimacy in a multilevel political system, without, however, producing a coherent set of institutional reforms.

Given this context, and given Hungary’s EU presidency of the European Council in the first half of 2011, the Hungarian PSA’s Annual Meeting this year focuses on European integration, broadly conceived.

Keynote speakers:

Andrew Moravcsik (Princeton): Are Criticisms of Europe’s “Democratic Deficit” Consistent with Basic Political Science?

Philippe C. Schmitter (EUI/CEU): The Future of Democracy in Europe and in the European Union

Roundtable sponsored by the CEU Center for European Research on political parties in the European Union: Robert Ladrech (Keele/College of Europe), Kenneth Benoit (LSE/CEU), Jacques Thomassen (Twente)

The panels will cluster into five sections: forms of governance, responses to crisis, political actors, Europe in the world and open section. The last section welcomes proposal from all areas of political science.

Deadline for proposing papers: 15 March, 2011. Potential paper-givers should submit their name, address and affiliation and a 250-300 word abstract.

Sections

Section 1: Forms of governance in the European Union and in Member States

The section explores questions of accountability, representation and institutional reform at national, regional and EU level. Panels that contrast techniques of direct and representative democracies, and the similarities and differences across new and old member states are also welcome.

Section organizer: Agnes Batory

Section 2: Responses to the crisis

The section focuses on the political economy of the global crisis and its consequences for the European Union, the Eurozone and the member states. What are the major policy responses to the crisis at the EU level? Does intergovernmentalism or deeper fiscal policy coordination prevail? Is there a trade-off between regulation, flexibility, solidarity and competitiveness?

Section organizer: Laszlo Csaba

Section 3: Alliances of political actors

The section invites panels on the behavior of institutional actors: parties, civic organizations, governments, the European Parliament, etc. Panels are expected to focus on alliances and competition among political actors, and on the way these power-struggles shape the European and the national arenas.

Section organizer: Attila Agh

Section 4: Europe in the world

The section addresses the challenges the EU faces in the post-American world. Panels on the position of Europe in the global economy, on European foreign- and neighborhood policy are welcome, as are panels that compare the EU to other international structures.

Section organizer: Peter Balazs

Section 5: Open Section

In line with the tradition of the HPSA, the conference also provides a forum for papers and lectures not directly connected to the central theme of the conference. The organizers anticipate a wide range of topics including proposals that focus on normative issues, political sociology, formal modeling, local politics or non-European area-studies.

Section organizer: Andras Bozoki

Conference information provided by konferenciakalauz.hu

Official Website: http://www.ceu.hu/hpsa2011