Call for Papers Workshop 7: NEW APPROACHES TO UNDERSTANDING CONTEMPORARY GLOBAL ENERGY RELATIONS, First European Workshops in International Studies (EWIS), 5-8 June 2013, Tartu, Estonia.

EWIS Workshop 7 aims to encourage the analysis of the effects of recent international political and economic developments on states as well as non-state actors in global energy politics beyond the Western/European context and encourages the application of alternative theoretical approaches from IR and cognate disciplines and the development and application of innovative analytical frameworks. It seeks to stimulate research that better captures the complex reality of global energy politics and to promote theoretical and methodological pluralism to better understand and conceptualise contemporary global energy relations.

The global financial crisis of 2008 has had a negative impact on the supply side (exploration of primary energy resources, development of new sources) as much as on the demand side (supply volumes and prices; the feasibility of new projects). The need to address the effects of carbon emissions on the earth’s climate has placed considerable pressures on policy-makers and energy companies to adopt measures to reduce emissions and switch from high emission fossil fuels to alternative sources. Nuclear power has been a tool to reduce emissions, but the fallout from the disaster in Japan and concerns about the possible misuse of nuclear technology for the development of nuclear weapons (especially by Iran) has highlighted the security dilemmas faced in this sector. New sources of energy (especially shale gas/oil), new technology for the exploration and transport of energy (including liquefied natural gas) and new routes for the transport of energy are changing traditional patterns of energy relations in the supply chain. The Arctic region, where large gas and oil reserves are located, has attracted attention as a venue for (potential) conflicts over resources, but also given rise to debates about the costs to the environment that their exploitation would provoke. Meanwhile, political instability is increasing in many regions where the major fossil fuel fields are to be found and where supply route diversification projects are planned. Finally, in the context of global and regional power shifts the changing role(s) of the so-called ‘rising powers’ in terms of their growing influence and the weakening position of the US and the EU are affecting international energy relations. Despite their considerable conflict potential, all of these developments offer also opportunities for cooperation.

We encourage submissions addressing: (1) GLOBAL ISSUES, in particular multilateral venues for cooperation (and conflict): (i) IGOs of producers, consumers and transit states; (ii) existing and emerging international regimes; (iii) conflicts over (access to) energy resources. (2) DEVELOPMENTS IN DIFFERENT REGIONS: (i) Europe & Central Asia; (ii) the Arctic; (iii) Africa & Middle East; (iv) Asia-Pacific; (v) North America & Canada, Central and South America. (3) POLICY DILEMMAS encountered in the pursuit of energy supply security while (i) engaging with authoritarian energy suppliers; (ii) trying to achieve energy efficiency; (iii) combating climate change; (iv) trying to ensure nuclear and environmental safety.

The deadline for submission of proposals is 15 December 2012. The maximum number of participants is 20. All participants will be expected to attend the workshop for the entire period of the conference. The registration fee is EUR 50 (full) / EUR 30 (research students).

WS7 co-directors: Dr. Elena Kropatcheva, Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg (IFSH) and Dr. Anke Schmidt-Felzmann, Stockholm University.