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The Legal Dimension of Global Governance: What Role for the EU?
Conference venue: University of Copenhagen (Denmark)
Period: Oct. 13 - 14, 2011
Deadline for submitting abstracts: Mar. 15, 2011
Deadline for submitting full papers: Sep. 1, 2011
Description of the Conference
Law is embedded in the deep structure that is the European Union; its institutions, its market and the logic of European integration writ large as a means of responding to geopolitical and socio-economic challenges of the European continent. In the context of the Union’s relations with the wider world too, it is commonly accepted that law plays a crucial role, be that as a model for (legal) integration, or as an exporter or generator of rules. Article 21.1 of the TEU confirms that this is in fact part of the Union’s global mission statement where it reads that “The Union’s action on the international scene shall be guided by the principles which have inspired its own creation, development and enlargement, and which it seeks to advance in the wider world: democracy, the rule of law, the universality and indivisibility of human rights …”
As a result of globalization peoples of all continents face social, economic and geopolitical challenges of transnational scope and complexity; where solutions lay beyond the grasp of any single state, regional grouping or international organization. At the same time, the ‘ever closer Union among the peoples of Europe’ finds itself in the turbulent waters of the indubitable evolution towards a multi-polar world causing new actors to claim a stronger voice on the international scene. Global governance then refers to (re)new(ed) modes, principles, processes and institutions through which these global challenges are, or should be, dealt with. It notably implies moving beyond the conventional, centralized governmental framework, into collective processes which involve international organizations, networks of stakeholders, traditional state-centred diplomacy and a wide variety of public and private fora. Through this variety of institutions, policy is conducted through channels and means which employ diverse legal norms and enforcement mechanisms to attain desirable objectives.
This conference therefore aims at addressing a number of stinging questions clustered around an internal and external perspective to the legal dimension of global governance and the potential role of the European Union therein. The focus of the conference will lie on the areas of global financial, trade, security and environmental governance.
Eligible topics for the conference
The guiding question is this: To which extent will the European Union be capable of influencing the ongoing reorientation of the legal structures and substance of global governance regimes in a re-configured multi-polar world?
- Does the EU have the capacity to shape the global system to match its regulatory ambitions – or is that even desirable?
- Has the EU already missed the opportunity to place its mark on the shaping of global governance regimes in these fields – or is it (still) five to twelve?
- Are the failure of the EU to strengthen its status at the UN General Assembly; the oscillating strength of a Union voice in climate action from Copenhagen over Cancún to Durban in 2011; and reshuffling of the management at the IMF all signs of future irrelevance of the Union, or a sign of healthy change to global governance regimes?
- Is the Union really still an attractive model or a rule generator towards shaping global governance of the 21st century?
- Is the Union governance model in abovementioned policy fields attractive beyond the European continent? Why (not), and can this be resolved?
- Are further institutional and constitutional reforms necessary for the Union to remain, become or recover relevance on the international scene; regulatory or otherwise?
- Are shared competences still realistic for the union to navigate the increasingly multi-polar world of global governance?
- Is deeper European integration inevitable if the Union wishes to avoid being second-tier?
These questions should be taken as indicative of the substance we seek with the papers.
Guidelines for submission
Paper-givers will be asked to submit advanced drafts of papers to the organization prior to the conference. These will be made available to conference participants to provide for thorough debate, specifically geared towards the publication. A selection of these papers will be published in an edited volume with a leading publisher.
Abstracts should be 400 to 500 words in length. To ensure sufficient room for debate, only eight external applicants will be invited to discuss their papers alongside invited speakers from academia and the institutions.
For more information, and for submmission of abstracts please email: Bart.van.vooren@jur.ku.dk
Submission of Abstracts: 15 March 2011
Communication of acceptance of abstracts: 1 April 2011
Submission of Papers: 1 September 2011
The Organizers kindly request that paper-givers not view these deadlines as merely indicative.
Organizer and Partners
- Centre for European Constitutionalization at the Faculty of Law;
- University of Copenhagen;
- the European Research in Copenhagen Initiative (EURECO); and
- the Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies;
- with the support of the Centre for the Law of EU External Relations.
Information & contacts
Dr. Bart Van Vooren
Faculty of Law, University of Copenhagen
Centre for Studies in Legal Culture
Centre for European Constitutionalization
address: Studiestræde 6
1455 Copenhagen, Denmark
e-mail: Bart.van.vooren@jur.ku.dk
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