Dear All,

We are organizing a Section on 'The Consequences of Crisis for Southern Europe', for the 7th ECPR General Conference, Sciences Po Bordeaux (5-7 September 2013). Attached you will find the file with panel descriptions and guidelines for proposing a paper.  We would be most grateful if you could forward this Call to any interested parties.

Paper proposals must be uploaded by 1st February 2013. Wishing you health, creativity and happiness in 2013, Susannah Verney - Boyka Stefanova - Maria Kousis Section Convenors Standing Group on Southern European Politics 'The Consequences of Crisis for Southern Europe'

 In recent years, Southern Europe has become a focus of international attention due to the impact of its travails on the eurozone and European governance. This proposal aims to turn the spotlight on the other side of the story, to the effects of the crisis on political processes within the region itself. Southern Europe’s vanguard role in the eurozone crisis and in the radical experiments in financial austerity and structural reform currently under way have turned the region into a laboratory of political change. The crisis and the strategies adopted to address it have unleashed processes of abrupt and rapid dislocation and transformation, redefining priorities, reshaping systems, redesigning policies, replacing actors and breaking down political affiliations.

The goal of the Section is to provide a forum for an overall assessment of ‘crisis politics’ in Southern Europe with their broader implications for European democracy. A non-exhaustive list of topics which might be addressed include the impact of ‘governance by Memorandum’ and the politics of austerity on political systems, political actors (e.g. labour unions, civil society), political economy (e.g. varieties of capitalism), policymaking processes, specific policy areas (e.g. welfare regimes, environmental and migration policies) and the consequences of crisis for political participation (e.g. the politics of protest and social mobilisation, party and party system change, public opinion and electoral behaviour).

The Section hopes to attract papers encompassing a wide range of topics, theoretical frameworks and methodological approaches. In terms of geographical scope, the Section will accept country case studies of the six eurozone states (Italy, Greece, Portugal, Spain, Cyprus and Malta) while intra-South European comparative studies will be particularly welcome. Such comparisons could potentially include Turkey, a state relatively unaffected by the international economic crisis.

The Section offers 13 Panels

1. Southern European Labour Contention: New and Old Repertoires, Social Alliances, and Party Relations Chair: Antonina Gentile, Universitá Degli Studi di Milano Co-Chair: Noëlle Burgi, Université de Paris I (Panthéon-Sorbonne).

2. The Crisis and the Welfare State: Southern Europe in Comparative Perspective Chair: Manos Matsaganis, Athens University of Economics and Business Co-Chair: Dimitris Sotiropoulos, University of Athens.

3. Protest in the Age of Austerity: Democracy, Legitimacy and Mobilisation in Southern Europe Chair: Pedro Ramos Pinto, University of Manchester Co-Chair: John Karamichas, Queen's University of Belfast.

4. Media Representations of the EU Crisis: Stereotypes, Prejudices and Emotions in Southern Europe Chair: Nicolas Demertzis, University of Athens Discussant: Nicolas Demertzis, University of Athens.

5. The Impacts of the Global Crisis on South European Environmental Politics Chair: Maria Kousis, University of Crete.

6. Party Politics in a ‘Crisis Zone’: Party System Change in Southern Europe Chair: Marco Lisi, Nova University of Lisbon.

7. The End of the EU as Modernising Vincolo Esterno? Differentiated Integration in Southern Europe Chair: Jose Magone, Co-Chair: Patrícia Calca, Universidade de Lisboa Instituto de Ciencias Sociais, Discussant: Célia Belim Rodrigues, Technical School of Social and Political Sciences.

8. Varieties of Capitalism in Southern Europe since the Crisis Chair: Boyka Stefanova, University of Texas at San Antonio.

9. Gender and the Economic Crisis in Southern Europe Chair: Yota Papageorgiou, University of Crete.

10. Bad Times to Win: Elections in Southern Europe in Times of Crisis Chair:  Irene Martín, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid irene.martin@uam.es Discussant: Elias Dinas, University of Nottingham.

11. The Crisis Impact on the State Apparatus of Southern Europe: National and Comparative Studies Chair: Minas Samatas, University of Crete.

12. Facing the Crisis in Southern Europe: Civil Society and Social-Protest Movements Chair: Rafael Vazquez, Universidad de Granada.

13. Crisis and Welfare Retrenchment: A View from the South Chair: Filipe Carreira Da Silva, University of Lisbon Co-Chair: Mónica Brito Vieira, University of York Below are links on the section panels and paper proposal instructions. http://ecprnet.eu/Events/PanelList.aspx?EventID=5&SectionID=117 http://ecprnet.eu/Documents/Conferences/General/2014BordeauxPaperProposalInstructions.pdf