Rochester,
Michigan USA
In the Detroit Metropolitan Area
November
1, 2014
THE THEME FOR THE 2014
CONFERENCE
THE ALBANIANS IN MONTENEGRO:
MINORITY vs. MAJORITY
POLITICS
IN AN ERA OF DEMOCRATIC
TRANSITION
Organizing Committee:
Viktor N. Ivezaj, Wayne
State University
Paul Kubicek, Oakland
University
Shinasi A. Rama, New York University
The independence referendum of May 21, 2006 paved the way for Montenegro’s
second attempt at state sovereignty that it had lost in 1918, and at the same
time signaled a close to the final chapter of Yugoslavia’s long and bitter
collapse. Montenegro’s road to her
recent independence was certainly challenging, where internal forces proved to
be as resistant to change as those outside its territorial boundaries. Even though sovereignty has been
accomplished, the road ahead is appearing to be more complex as this tiny
nation sprints towards Euro-Atlantic integration, and at the same time attempts
to forge a new identity, establish effective institutions, institute political
legitimacy, and maintain social cohesion, which in the past two decades has
been a convoluted task. It could be
argued that, from a regional point of view, the international community needs a
“success story”, in other words, Montenegro serves as an example for a region
that has been plagued by ethnic conflict and decades-long bloody wars. And for the most part, Montenegro has emerged
from the wrath of nationalism and was determined to carve out its own identity
by first seeking independence from Serbia followed by accession to a more
contemporary European family of states that share the common bond of democratic
values, norms, and ideals, a far stretch from the communist ideologies that
preserved Yugoslavia for more than six decades.
In spite of this, policymakers and political elites in Podgorica have
failed to recognize the disparities in Montenegro’s socio-political and
economic institutions. Most troubling
are its policies towards the Albanian population, where the Albanian minority
has expressed grievances in all realms of social, economic and political life.
The politics of exclusion continue to frustrate the Albanian
communities in Montenegro as their sociopolitical situation has not changed
much since the dissolution of the former Yugoslavia. In fact, many of the problems that faced
Albanians in Kosova in lieu of the conflicts of 1990s are emerging in post-independence
Montenegro. Albanian communities
continue to be victim of land confiscation, forced assimilation and emigration,
limited access to education and employment, economic underdevelopment, absence
of decentralized government and various other systemic programmes designed to
stymie the Albanian language, culture and heritage. As Montenegro weaves around the EU candidacy requirements,
many of the commitments aimed at protecting minorities have come up short and
not translated into law and policy. As a
result, Albanians fear that their place in a “union” with Europe will not
improve their future status, and a programme of “smoking mirrors” – to conceal
the reality of botched liberties and equal rights – will continue until the
Albanian population is a non-factor.
This conference series was conceived to assess these problems and
work towards developing possible solutions where a multi-ethnic state can work
parallel to a common goal. Following the
first successful conference on The
Albanians in Montenegro: History, Identity and the Minority Politics in a New
State in 2012 on the campus of NYU, the Organizing Committee (OC) is
pleased to announce A CALL for PAPERS and PROPOSALS for the Second Conference
scheduled for November 1, 2014 at the historic Meadow Brook Mansion on the
campus of Oakland University. The
conference is being co-sponsored by OU’s Department of Political Science and International
Studies.
The OC seeks proposals, including thematic and topical panels,
papers and roundtable discussions for the 2014 conference in Michigan. The conference planners seek research and
activities that reflect on the themes of ethnicity, nationalism, political
participation and behavior, policy, advocacy, education, international law,
culture, and research as they relate to the status of Albanians in Montenegrin
society; particularly as they pertain to the aforementioned issues. Key questions of interest center on how
Albanians in Montenegro have transformed the electoral strategies and policy
decisions of political candidates both in regional and national politics;
education and economic disparities and stagnation; Albanian, Montenegrin, and
other Balkan politics related to minority rights, policy innovation, and
conflict; ethnic politics and policy effects on ethnic communities; laws, law
enforcement, and the courts; ethnic identities and psychology; the political
communication of ethnicity in an age of Euro-Atlantic integration; public opinions
on issues related to ethnicity and ethnic relations; the role of integration
and assimilation in political discourse and behavior; and epistemological and
theoretical foundations of Albanian political thought and behavior in
Montenegro.
The ambition of this conference is to welcome theoretical and
empirical contributions to generate the greatest possible number of concrete,
innovative answers to the questions of the Albanians in Montenegro, their
political, associative and socio-economic representation and whether the state
is working to improve the quality of governance, and subsequently, the quality
of their lives.
We encourage participants to follow the principal themes covered
below:
1. “Better governance” or
“good enough governance”
2. Ethnicity and Nationalism
3. The Prospects of “Greater”
or “Natural” Albania
4. Politics of Identity
5. Albanian culture and
encounters with the State
6. The politics of numbers:
the 2012 census in Montenegro
7. Religious (In)Tolerance
8. Territoriality and
Language Rights
9. Anti-Government Protests
in Montenegro
10. Personal identities and
state policies
11. Montenegro’s Constitution
12. Montenegro nationality
policy
13. Politics of
Self-Determination
14. Nationalism, Institutions
and Participation
15. Culture and National
Identity
16. Democratization and EU
Integration of Montenegro
17. Problems With Assimilation
and Coexistence in Montenegro
18. Imagined Democracy?
Elections and Nation-Building
19. Language, Culture, Education
and Identity
20. The Patterns of
Post-Yugoslavia (Intellectual) Migration
21. Political integration
22. Diaspora Politics
23. Prospects for change in
Montenegro
24. Unity and Diversity among
the Albanian communities in Montenegro
The objective is to publish a book that includes the research
papers presented at this conference. Rules
and deadlines for final paper submissions to the editorial board will be
discussed at a special meeting scheduled for Sunday November 2nd.
Paper-givers will have approx. 12 minutes for their presentation,
as will the discussant(s). Chairpersons should leave approx. 30 minutes for
discussion from the floor.
Abstract
Submissions
Abstracts
will only be accepted online via email to:
Other queries concerning the programme should be addressed to:
Important Dates
July
31st Deadline for abstract submissions
August
31st Final
Program released
September
30th deadline for
paper submissions
November
1st Conference (8:30
a.m. – 3:30 p.m.)
November
2nd Round-Table
Discussion
Accommodations
The
OU Department of Political Science will provide a list of local accommodations
once the Final Program has been released.
