The European International Studies Association (EISA), Gediz University, Izmir, Turkey, 21-24 May 2014 Workshop Conveyors:

Bohdana Dimitrovova, University of Tubingen, Olivia U. Rutazibwa, University of Portsmouth Title: Re-negotiating Western Normativity: Post- and De-colonial Study of IR Inspired by postcolonial perspectives, the proposed workshop aims at critically exploring the reception and transformation of Western norms at Europes peripheries. Inscribing itself in a decolonial research strategy, the panel welcomes contributions that explicitly seek to a) demythologise (re-investigate certain givens in the field), b) desilence (be guided by peoples and perspectives that have classically been ignored) and/or c) decolonise (go beyond the description of inequality and oppression to the active search for potential alternatives). As an influential body of theory, postcolonial studies have triggered important discussions in international relations to include non-Western critical perspectives. Postcolonial scholars not only trace the continuities of colonial power in the contemporary relations between the South and the North, but also point to the denial of power of the Wests soft interventions in the rest of world. At the same time, the depolitised outlook of neoliberalism obscures forms of oppression and inequalities. The poststructuralist conception and location of power as mostly productive and being everywhere has rendered a possibility of resistance conceptually and politically challenging. As such, the present-day state of the art appears fragmented and incoherent with inadequate conceptual means to decode the complexity of international relations. Against this backdrop, critique of international policies cannot merely entail a rejection of Western norms, nor can the aim be to recover authentic non-Western norms. Rather the challenge is how to decode the epistemic and ontological violence that informs specific international policies; so that those on the receiving end have not only a possibility of intervening and transforming these structures and practices, but also the terms of the debate. The panel aligns itself with the postcolonial interrogations that attempt to reconstruct the effects of past and present western- and Eurocentrism, on which basis a large part of international theory-building has been made. However, the field also aims to document how precarious and contested these power formations have been, so that the postcolonial constellations can be grasped in their complex and contradictory nature. In the various areas of scholarship it attempts to show the sustained and ambivalent effects of colonial power structures on knowledge production. However, it not only challenges Eurocentric claims of universality, but also the complementary assertions of global particularism and cultural relativism. Empirical and theoretical contributions from a variety of disciplinary and geographic perspectives are welcome. Besides postcolonial perspectives, we particularly welcome contributions that re-integrate Marxist insights in the analysis of development, democratization, environmental, security and peace-building policies of bilateral and multilateral international actors, like the EU (and its member states) and global partners. The deadline for paper proposals is 15 December 2013. Proposals MUST be submitted via the EISA website. Applicants will be notified about the outcome of the selection process by 20 January 2014. Further details, including workshop descriptions and a link to the proposal website, are available at
http://www.eisa-net.org/sitecore/content/be-bruga/eisa/events/ewis.aspx