The Challenge of Non-Territorial Autonomy, Belfast, Ireland

Deadline: 21 September 2012
Open to: interested students  and early career scholars worldwide
Reimbursement:  £400 travel/accommodation grant to between 8 and 10 paper givers to support early career scholars, i.e. doctoral students within six months of submission and the holders of PhDs, awarded after September 1 2009
Venue: 9-10 November 2012, Queen’s University, Belfast, Northern Ireland

Description

Cultural diversity is the norm in a world of nation-states. A recurrent problem is how to organise what are in fact, multi-ethnic and multi-nation states so that majorities and minorities are able to coexist and effectively participate in the life of the state, bolstering allegiance without suffering cultural alienation and without resorting to territorial secession. Multicultural liberal democracies sincerely champion equality and individual human rights, but often have considerable difficulties in accommodating culturally diverse minority communities. Territorial representation is only possible when minority communities inhabit a compact territorial space, yet in the majority of cases, minority communities do not reside compactly, making any territorial representation impossible. This situation often causes intractable problems for the functioning of democratic polities, and requiring modalities of non-territorial autonomy (NTA) as a solution.

The aim of this conference is to examine in theory, empirically and through the work of legal practitioners, the challenges, and possible solutions offered by different models of NTA for the effective participation of minorities in public life. Non-Territorial autonomy takes variety of different forms, such as Consociationalism and National Cultural Autonomy, but also forms of representation that de-territorialises self-determination, as in the case of indigenous communities, the juridical autonomy as with religious communities, or in the practice of some models of multiculturalism. We invite theoretical and comparative papers and case studies on NTA models that build upon theoretical consideration and/or consider empirical case studies.

 The organising committee would like to welcome papers addressing the following issues:

  • Can NTA serve the goals of European integration? Can such models be incorporated into the EU minority protection framework?
  • Does NTA help resolve protracted territorial conflicts? Examples include, but are not limited to Bosnia, Kurdistan or Israel/Palestine?
  • What are the limits and/or possibilities of implementing NTA models in liberal democracies?
  • Can NTA models rejuvenate multiculturalism?
  • Can models of NTA enhance the integration of Diasporas?
  • What are the opportunities for Indigenous self-determination within the NTA framework?
  • Can models of NTA help the effective participation of minorities in post-colonial states? And, can NTA models help eliminate the cultural residues of colonialism?

This list is not exhaustive.

Eligibility

All interested students  and early career scholars worldwide.

Reimbursement

It will be offered £400 travel/accommodation grant to between 8 and 10 paper givers to support early career scholars, i.e. doctoral students within six months of submission and the holders of PhDs, awarded after September 1 2009. The preference to access grants will be given to affiliates of institutions outside the EU, although relevance and innovation of the paper will principally inform the decision of the selection panel.

 If you would like to apply for a travel/accommodation grant, please state this clearly when submitting your paper proposal.

Application

Applicants should submit a 300 word abstract and a short biographic statement (max 300 words) indicating institutional affiliation and if they wish to be considered for the early career subsidy at the website http://www.conferencepro.eu/nta.

The Official Website

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