You are welcome to send paper proposals are for the upcoming Conference of the African Studies Association in Germany (VAD) called “Embattled Spaces – Contested Orders”. It will be held May 30-June 2, 2012 at the University Campus Cologne, Germany.

The Panel titled "Africa's Disputed Borderlands: Responses from Multiple Disciplinary Perspectives" aims at exploring the complexity of present-day border disputes in Africa and their legacy (i.e. economic, political, social, and cultural) for the borderlands in question, both in comparative perspective and through the single case study approach.

By taking the comparative perspective, presenters shall explore the commonalities and differences between the disputed territories in question and the political and socioeconomic paths they have followed prior to and after the beginning of the conflicts. Papers are invited on a wide range of related issues, such as local socioeconomic changes caused by inter-state and intra-state conflicts, cross-border trade and migration, arms smuggling and inter-communal violence, ethnic identity and mobilization in “politically sensitive” borderlands etc., both in the recent history and current contexts.

The panel will be co-chaired by Alexander Zhukov (Institute for African Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences) and Aleksi Ylönen (Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (HSFK). Please send your paper proposals (not more than 300 words) by November 30, 2011 to the following address:

VAD-2012@uni-koeln.de

with the indication of the panel number (14).

Further information on the conference and instructions for paper-givers at:
http://www.vad-ev.de/2012/index.php/de/call-for-abstracts