Call for Papers: RESISTING AUTHORITARIANISM IN EURASIA. Civil Society and New Solidarities

Deadline: 07. Mai 2024

leksanteri Institute | University of Helsinki | 23–25 October 2024

Deadline for submitting panel, roundtable, and paper proposals: 7 May 2024

We welcome submissions to the 23rd Annual Aleksanteri Conference. This year’s conference will address the challenges posed by the spread and seeming resilience of authoritarianism in Eurasia in a variety of spheres: political contestation, social movements, political legitimacy, repression, and cultural resistance. All of these spheres reflect the formation and transformation of solidarities in the turbulent times, disruption of previously existing identities in the context of ongoing war in Ukraine and emergence of new ones.

The upcoming conference aims to explore political transformations in Eurasia from the perspective of various actors and institutions, with a particular emphasis on civil society organizations and political resistance. The conference will focus both on developments within authoritarian states and on how democracies have confronted the challenges posed by authoritarianism, including by resorting to armed resistance.

By addressing issues related to authoritarian resilience and spillover in the present and past, as well as themes such as legitimacy, civil resistance in times of war, and oppression, the conference seeks to shed light on the reshaping of political alliances and solidarities in the new era. It also aims to examine the cultural and historical origins of dictatorial as well as pluralistic regimes. Furthermore, the conference aims to explore how cultural, economic, and political attitudes have changed in times of profound crisis.

Schedule and deadlines

  • Deadline for submitting proposals: Tuesday, 7 May 2024
  • Notification of acceptance: Monday, 10 June 2024
  • Registration fees due by:
    • Early bird (130 €): Sunday, 30 June 2024
    • Standard (170 €): Friday, 6 September 2024
  • Conference programme published: late September 2024
  • Conference: 23–25 October 2024

Zur Website des Büro Georgien der Max Weber Stiftung