Summer School Regions in Europe – Session 6:  Federalism, Regionalism & Governing Diversity in Europe and Beyond

2–10 September 2011, hosted by University of Kent, Centre for Federal Studies

• Provisional Programme: 

Framework Timetable 

09h30  Lecture

10h30  Coffee break

11h00  Two student presentations, ca. 45 min each (20 minutes speaking, then 25 minutes discussion)

13h00  Lunch

14h30  Lecture

15h30  Tea

16h00  Two student presentations, ca. 45 min each (20 minutes speaking, then 25 minutes discussion)

18h00  Close

• DAY 1 (Friday 2 September)

Whole day: Arrival at Canterbury

Evening: Welcome Reception

Event sponsored by the Swiss Embassy in London

Venue: “The Kentish Barn”, Cathedral Lodge

• DAY 2 (Saturday 3 September)

Morning: Professor Michael Keating (University of Aberdeen): “Managing Plurinationalism in Europe”

Afternoon: Professor Wolf Linder (University of Berne): “Swiss Federalism in Comparative Perspective: the Challenges of Diversity” 

• DAY 3 (Sunday 4 September)

Morning: Professor Helder De Schutter (University of Leuven): “A Political Theory of Plurinational Federalism”

Afternoon: Professor Michael Burgess (University of Kent): “Comparative Theoretical Approaches to the Study of Federalism: Some Thoughts and Reflections”

Evening: optional event in downtown Canterbury

• DAY 4 (Monday 5 September)

Morning: Dr Ailsa Henderson (University of Edinburgh): “Measuring Political Diversity in Canada and Europe”

Afternoon: Professor Luis Moreno (Spanish National Research Council): “The Place of Spain in Comparative Federalism”

• DAY 5 (Tuesday 6 September)

Morning: Dr Jörg Mathias (Aston): PhD Research Project Management

The session focuses on practical aspects of research project management, with particular emphasis on their applicability to PhD projects. This will be an opportunity for participants to discuss methodological problems encountered in their own PhD projects.

Dr Niels Lange (Westphalia Foundation): “A Private Actor Managing Intra-Regional Diversity: Stiftung Westfalen-Initiative”

Afternoon: Guided Tour through historic Canterbury

• DAY 6 (Wednesday 7 September)

Morning: Dr Alex Wilson (University of Aberdeen): “Statewide and Regionalist Party Strategies in a Plurinational Environment: Comparative Evidence from Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom”

Afternoon: Professor Kris Deschouwer (Free University of Brussels): “Belgian Federalism: The Challenge of Governing a Bipolar Consociational Federation

• DAY 7 (Thursday 8 September)

Morning: Dr Soeren Keil (University of Kent ): “The Case of Bosnia Herzegovina: A New Federal Model?”

Afternoon: Dr Wilfried Swenden (University of Edinburgh): “Federalism and the (Non-) Accommodation of Plurinationalism in India”

Dr Paolo Dardanelli (University of Kent): “Minority Nationalist Parties and EU-Integration”

• Day 8 (Friday 9 September)

Morning: Dr Nenad Stojanovic (University of Zurich): “Accommodating Plurinationalism: Is Federalism Enough? The Role of the Referendum in Swiss Democracy”

Afternoon: Dr. Neophytos G. Loizides (University of Kent): “Federalism, Consociationalism, and ‘One Person, One Vote’ – Evidence from Post-Ottoman Societies”

• Day 9 (Saturday 10 September)

Morning: Dr Jan Erk (University of Leiden): “Is Federalism Secession-Enhancing or Secession-Preventing? Evidence from Europe and Beyond”

• Closing: Dr Klaus Detterbeck (Magdeburg), Dr Wilfried Swenden (Edinburgh), and Dr Jörg Mathias (Aston): Closing Session

This session provides an opportunity to reflect upon the experience of the summer school, and to finish debates from the previous days. Participants will receive Certificates (8 ECTS Credits) detailing their involvement in the Summer School.

Lunch & Departure

• Participants

Summer School participants should be young scholars who are currently engaged in research on any aspect of regional & federal studies and related fields, and whose current projects fit the School’s 2011 theme. The group for which summer school participation would probably be most beneficial are PhD students who are at least one year into their projects, but recent Masters graduates and novice PhD students may apply if they embark on a project which is most relevant to the School’s theme. Young researchers who have recently finished their PhD are also invited to join if their current research work is fitting the School’s theme. There is no age limit. The Summer School is open to participants from all ECPR member institutions. Applications from researchers working in non-ECPR member institutions will be considered if places are available. The key criterion for accepting applications is academic merit, i.e. the quality and thematic appropriateness of the project to be presented by the participant.

• Technical Arrangements

The Summer School will be held in the English language. A good working knowledge of English is therefore essential to participate.

There are 20 places available at the Summer School. Participants are required to attend the Summer School sessions in full (8 days). Applications for partial participation will only be considered in special circumstances.

Participants will be required to pay a fee of GBP 475. The fee covers tuition, accommodation on campus, breakfast and lunch, but not travel expenses. Applicants are advised to approach their own institutions for support in covering these fees. In addition, all summer school participants from ECPR member institutions may apply for grants towards travel and accommodation from the ECPR’s mobility fund. Please be advised though that the deadline for these grants is 1 June 2011. Swiss students and students at Swiss universities can apply for full coverage of tuition and travel by the Swiss Embassy in London; please note so in your application. Further information, together with an on-line mobility fund application form, may be obtained from the ECPR’s web site at http://www.ecprnet.eu.

• Application Procedure and Key Dates

Applicants should fill in the application form and should send it together with a 500-word abstract of their proposed paper to Dr Klaus Detterbeck or Dr Wilfried Swenden. The deadline for applications is 1 JUNE 2011.

Applicants will be notified about the outcome of their applications by 10 JUNE. Successful applicants will then be asked to proceed to write their paper. At this point, payment of the fee will also be requested.

Completed papers and fee payments should reach the organisers no later than 1 August.

• Contact details

Standing Group Co-Convenor. (also responsible for contact with ECPR):

Dr Wilfried Swenden. School of Social and Political Science. University of Edinburgh. 3.05 Chrystal Macmillan Building. 15a George Square. Edinburgh EH8 9LD, UK. Tel: +44 (0)131 650 4255. E-mail: W.Swenden@ed.ac.uk

Local organiser (academic):

Professor Michael Burgess. Director, Centre for Federal Studies. University of Kent. Canterbury, Kent. CT2 7NZ – UK. Tel: +44 (0)1227 824 653. E-mail: M.D.Burgess@kent.ac.uk

Local organiser (support):

Mr Sean Mueller. Assistant Lecturer & PhD student. Centre for Federal Studies. University of Kent. Canterbury, Kent . CT2 7NZ – UK. Tel: +44 (0)79 648 992 84. E-mail: S.Mueller@kent.ac.uk

 Standing Group Co-Convenor:

Dr Klaus Detterbeck. Institut fűr Politikwissenschaft. Otto-von-Guericke Universität Magdeburg. Zschokkerstraße 32. D – 39104 Magdeburg. Germany. Tel: +49 (0)391 671 6647. E-mail: Klaus.Detterbeck@GSE-W.Uni-Magdeburg.de

Local organiser (secretarial):

Mrs Marie-Louise Burgess. Administrator, Centre for Federal Studies. University of Kent. Canterbury, Kent. CT2 7NZ – UK. Tel: +44 (0)1227 824 653. E-mail: M.L.Burgess@ed.ac.uk

Co-operation Partner:

Dr Niels Lange. Geschäftsfűhrer. Stiftung Westfalen – Initiative fűr Eigenverantwortung und Gemeinwohl. Piusallee 6. 48147 Münster, Germany. Tel: +44 (0)251 591 6406.  E-mail: nlange@westfalen-initiative.de