Regional and Global Crisis Management: Trends, Tradition, and Innovations

Terrorist attacks, financial crises, natural disasters, climate change, and health security create renewed pressure to cooperate across geographical and functional boundaries. The Standing Group on International Relations invites theoretical and empirical research on regional and global governance of risks and crises. In today’s era of instability in several policy fields that are of vital concern to Europe and other political regions, the development and performance of both conventional tools and innovative practices and policies has attracted broad scholarly attention. Existing studies have particularly stressed the role of the EU in crisis management and conflict resolution, a development that resonates with broader global trends on changing alliances and the re-characterization of crises and threats. Comparative analyses have also emphasized the crucial importance of bilateral relations such as between the EU and Russia, as well as inter-organizational relations, for example between the African Union (AU), European Union (EU), North American Treaty Organization (NATO), Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and the United Nations (UN). In view of the increasing complexity of today’s risks and crises, further theorizing and empirical inquiry into potential practical and normative implications of risks and crises are required. This Section is interdisciplinary in character and invites contributions from a variety of perspectives and disciplinary backgrounds. We are particularly interested in Panels and Papers that contribute to theory development on contemporary crisis management, as well as contributions that deepen our empirical knowledge on various actors and practices, for example through the use of case studies, scenarios, and statistical analysis. The Section is supported by the ECPR Standing Group on International Relations. Panel 1: The management of climate change The Panel invites contributions that evaluate current approaches to, and add novel theoretical, empirical, or normative perspectives on, the management of climate change. Papers analyzing the role of a variety of different actors, as well as different norms, practices, and procedures that shape the management of climate change are welcome. Panel 2: Humanitarian aid, man-made and natural disasters, and migration The Panel invites contributions engaging with current debates on the changing nature and characterization of crises, securitization processes, and relevant actors and procedures shaping institutional responses. Multidisciplinary debates are most welcome. A special focus will be given to the complex relationship between crisis management and the areas of aid, migration, and refugees. Panel 3: The ‘politics of responsibility’ The Panel includes a broad range of approaches focusing on the responsibility to protect and ‘the politics of responsibility’ more generally, and is open to both theoretical and empirical contributions. Panel 4: The management of health and food security The Panel welcomes both theoretical and empirical contributions on the management of health and food security, including analyses of a variety of relevant actors, institutions, and decision-making processes. Panel 5: Non-state actors and risk and crisis management The Panel seeks to explore the various roles and functions that non-state actors assume in the regional and global management of risks and crises, as well as a range of potential implications that their participation may entail. The Panel invites contributions analyzing the roles of non-state actors across different procedural phases, including decision-making, implementation, execution, and evaluation. Panel 6: The Governance of Global Financial Crises The Panel invites innovative theoretical and empirical research on the governance of global financial crises. The Panel is interdisciplinary and seeks to combine approaches from a variety of backgrounds and perspectives. Daniela Irrera (PhD in International Relations, University of Catania) is Associate Professor of Political Science and IR at the University of Catania, where she teaches International Politics and Global civil society. She has been Visiting Fellow in various Universities in Europe, US, Asia. She has been awarded with a DAAD Fellowship at the Peace Research Institute Frankfurt and with a research grant at the European Union Center of Excellence, University of Alberta, Canada. She is part of several research projects funded by the EU under Jean Monnet Action, Lifelong Learning Programme, and Horizon 2020. She is currently working as a team member of the H2020 TransCrisis project, focusing on the issue of ‘Managing Immigration Crisis’ (www.transcrisis.eu); and listed as expert for EU CIVCAP, a project on Preventing and Responding to Conflict: Developing Civilian Capabilities for a Sustainable Peace. She has extensively published in the areas of International Relations and EU politics, dealing with global terrorism, transnational organised crime, civil society and humanitarian affairs. Nora Stappert is a final-year DPhil (PhD) candidate in International Relations at Pembroke College, University of Oxford. Prior to her doctoral research, she completed the MPhil in International Relations at Oxford and the Master of Studies in Law (MSL) program at Yale Law School. Her research focuses on the intersection between international law and international relations, the role of international courts in global governance, and legal interpretation and the development of normative content. Nora is currently an Associate Lecturer at Oxford Brookes University, where she teaches IR theory, human rights, and international history.