Preliminary Programme

Wed 12 April
    08.30 - 10.30
    11.00 - 13.00
    14.00 - 16.00
    16.30 - 18.30

Thu 13 April
    08.30 - 10.30
    11.00 - 13.00
    14.00 - 16.00
    16.30 - 18.30

Fri 14 April
    08.30 - 10.30
    11.00 - 13.00
    14.00 - 16.00
    16.30 - 18.30

Sat 15 April
    08.30 - 10.30
    11.00 - 13.00
    14.00 - 16.00

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Friday 14 April 2023 08.30 - 10.30
A-9 POL16 Early Forms of Internationalism and Supranationalism in Europe
SEB salen (Z)
Network: Politics, Citizenship, and Nations Chair: Anastassiya Schacht
Organizers: - Discussants: -
Erzsébet Árvay : The Diaspora Governance of the Hungarian Socialist Workers’ Party, 1956-1989
After the Second World War, the Hungarian People’s Republic, as a Soviet satellite state, was isolated in the international system, especially after breakdown of the 1956 revolution. Therefore one of the most important aims of Hungary’s post-war foreign policy was to break out of this isolation. The Hungarian émigré community ... (Show more)
After the Second World War, the Hungarian People’s Republic, as a Soviet satellite state, was isolated in the international system, especially after breakdown of the 1956 revolution. Therefore one of the most important aims of Hungary’s post-war foreign policy was to break out of this isolation. The Hungarian émigré community was perceived as an important element influencing the international relations of the country, thus the Hungarian state also tried to exert influence over its diasporic community.
My presentation explores the interactions that formed the structures and mechanisms of state-diaspora relations during the Cold War in order to analyze the patterns of diaspora engagement policies of the Hungarian People’s Republic, with the intention of presenting and suggesting a typology of diaspora policies of the Soviet satellite state. To develop an interpretive framework for the analysis of the diaspora policies of the Cold War, the characteristic features of these policies must first be identified and typologized. My presentation aims to contribute to this large-scale research by analyzing the diaspora policymaking of the central governing bodies of the Hungarian Socialist Workers’ Party in order to identify and typologize the diaspora policies of the state.
My research applies inductive qualitative approach by utilizing the Grounded Theory method for its purpose of constructing concepts and categories instead of solely describing factual data. As a result of the qualitative text analysis, my presentation seeks to answer the following questions:
• What directives were developed by the central governing body of the Hungarian Socialist Workers’ Party regarding diaspora policies?
• What process theory explains the mechanism for developing the diaspora policies of the era?
• How did the international relations of the Kádár era influence the formation of diaspora policies?
In my presentation, a preliminary typology of challenges of diasporic activities and a separate preliminary typology of diaspora engagement policies are presented. The paper also discusses the interconnection between the challenges of diasporic activities and diaspora engagement policies. (Show less)

Pavol Jakubec : Small, Not One-Size: Governments-in-Exile, Resources and Status in Allied London
Throughout the history of international politics, gouvernments-in-exile, either transferred or emergent outside the territory they struggle to represent and govern, their displacement and restricted means notwithstanding, constitute a peculiarity. The Second World War saw an outburst of exile political representation of states overrun by Nazi Germany and its ‘Axis’ partners. ... (Show more)
Throughout the history of international politics, gouvernments-in-exile, either transferred or emergent outside the territory they struggle to represent and govern, their displacement and restricted means notwithstanding, constitute a peculiarity. The Second World War saw an outburst of exile political representation of states overrun by Nazi Germany and its ‘Axis’ partners. By 1942, London hosted eight European, predominantly small power gouvernments (plus several ‘free movements’ of lesser formal standing) that each claimed to be speaking for some part of occupied and ‘Axis’ Europe. This situation was not only peculiar – it was singular. The miniature ‘international society’ that emerged as the ‘United Nations’ encompassed status competition, resting upon perceptions of the self and of others. What counted was the respective government’s ability to establish a collective belief acknowledging that it possesses critical capabilities. Resources that these governments had at their disposal were limited, yet essential; they preconditioned one’s credibility and agency within the war coalition.
In my paper, I would like to present the ‘realities’ behind the exile diplomacy of the Norwegian government. In contrasting them with those of its Czechoslovak and Polish counterparts I wish to bridge national and international perspectives to underline the multilateral nature of Allied London. Operating close to one another, and to their British hosts, Allied governments-in-exile shared enemies, traumatic experiences of scarcity and insecurity, as well as the teleology of return and restoration. While challenges to face were comparable, each government had a specific repertoire, aligning material components, more or less readily convertible into military means, with those immaterial. I argue that the variety in place warrants a nuanced approach: Neither did ‘small’ equate ‘one-size’ (or negligible), nor did ‘heavy’ assets outplay those ‘soft’ ones by default in the process of status construction in the Allied London community. In the sense of reputation, status is relational, hence a closer look at the said diversity can help us discuss potential post-war partnerships, being negotiated at the side-lines of the pending global conflict. (Show less)

Mechthild Roos : Becoming Europe's Parliament: an Interdisciplinary Study of MEP Activism in the 1950s-70s
The European Parliament (EP) is today one of the most powerful actors in EU politics. However, it was intended to be little more than a consultative assembly at the founding of the European Communities in the 1950s. This paper argues that the swift evolution of the EP into a co-legislator ... (Show more)
The European Parliament (EP) is today one of the most powerful actors in EU politics. However, it was intended to be little more than a consultative assembly at the founding of the European Communities in the 1950s. This paper argues that the swift evolution of the EP into a co-legislator cannot be understood without taking into consideration the socialisation of the early Members of the EP (MEPs), and the ideas underlying their Community-level activism. In the larger context of the EP’s institutional evolution prior to its first direct elections in 1979, this paper analyses what drove a number of delegates – national parliamentarians with a part-time European mandate at the time – to invest considerable time and effort far beyond Treaty provisions in an institution which promised no significant political impact, no career improvement, and no acknowledgement by voters.

The paper studies in a historical-sociological institutionalist analysis to what extent MEPs’ socialisation shaped their behaviour, and with what effect. Building on this hybrid theoretical framework, the paper shows that MEPs shaped the EP according to their ideas of a fully-fledged supranational parliament, deriving from their intra- and extra-parliamentary experiences. To this end, the analysis takes into consideration the various fora in which the delegates got engaged both prior to and after entering the EP, including national parliaments and parties, other Community institutions and international organisations. Through the study of inter-related processes of influencing and being influenced, the paper maps the ideational basis for the EP’s institutional evolution in a time where it was far from clear what role the EP would turn out to play in Community politics. This uncertainty was based notably on the significantly varying perceptions among members of the Community institutions and member-state governments as to what powers and tasks the EP should have, ranging from a mere control body to a fully-fledged supranational parliament.

The analysis in this paper fruitfully combines methods from political science and historiography. It is based on a bipartite dataset consisting, on the one hand, of 27 semi-structured interviews with former MEPs from all EP party groups and member states prior to 1979 as well as with officials who worked in the EP at the time, and on the other hand, of a corpus of ca. 3,500 EP documents, such as resolutions, reports, parliamentary questions and minutes of debates. An oral-history based analysis of the interviews provides valuable insight into MEPs’ socialisation prior to and during their EP mandates, and the shared ideas that drove the delegates in their activism at Community level. A qualitative content analysis of the EP documents offers further in-depth information on how MEPs’ socialisation and polity ideas affected their behaviour, and what larger impact this had on the institutional evolution of the EP. With this two-dimensional methodological approach, this paper contributes not only to a deeper understanding of the early EP’s gradual empowerment, but also to the evaluation of research benefits deriving from the combination of methods and theories from history and the social sciences. (Show less)

Nives Rumenjak : New Paradigms in the 21st Century? History and International Relations and the Re-ordering of the World System
It is well known that the study of history and theories are essential for the field of International Relations. While it is not difficult to agree that the discipline of Modern History is increasingly influenced by international perspectives and International Relations, one might find it important to establish in what ... (Show more)
It is well known that the study of history and theories are essential for the field of International Relations. While it is not difficult to agree that the discipline of Modern History is increasingly influenced by international perspectives and International Relations, one might find it important to establish in what degree is Modern History influenced by the theories of International Relations in recent scholarship.

This might be particularly opportune at the time when Marxism, with its famous division of historical periods, is gaining increasing popularity as one of the most prominent theories of International Relations. Equally, the World-system Analysis, inspired by Marxism and Braudel’s total history and heavily relaying of historicization of sociology, become one of the most popular alternative theories of International Relations in recent decades.

My theoretical research is focused on conceptual shifts both in history and International Relations after the changes in the world order, brought by the fall of the Berlin Wall and an ever-deeper crisis in the system of liberal democracies. I will pay special attention to the modern global history/world system and the elements of systemic crises and securitizations emphasized by recent theories and concepts in History and International Relations. My three ultimate questions are: Are there any new paradigms in the Global History and International Relations in the 21st century? To what degree have the 21-st century paradigms in History and International Relations influenced each other? What are the trends in Modern History and International Relations from the perspective of European Scholarship?

My primary sources in this comparative study will be different theoretical journals such as Social Science History, International Theory, History and Theory, Journal of Global History, The Journal of Modern History, Comparative Studies in Society and History, Geopolitics, Journal of Modern European History, History and International Relations, The International History Review, International Affairs, Review of International Studies, Journal of International Affairs, Journal of International Relations and Development, European Journal of International Relations, Journal of World-Systems Research, Review (Fernand Braudel Center), Theory and Society, etc. (Show less)



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