[spectre] CfP: Protest and Power in Central and Eastern Europe

[Janos Sugar]

Protest and Power in Central and Eastern European States- Cambridge

The recent wave of protests and demonstrations that spread across and 
beyond Europe has renewed scholarly interest in social movements and 
protest: whether Coloured revolutions or Occupy movements, Otpor in 
Yugoslavia or Femen in Ukraine, all are indicative of a widespread 
feeling among postcommunist publics that contemporary politics do not 
reflect their interest, cannot live up to their expectations and are 
run by meritocratic elites. The UK Baltic Study Group looks back at 
issues of protest and contestation affecting Baltic states and 
societies over the past decade and would like to draw on interested 
scholars to identify and discuss existing structures of power, 
grass-root movements that sought to challenge them, and possible 
directions of change observable across postcommunist societies.

We welcome country/case studies that relate to theoretical debates on 
protest and power in general and issues of political contestation in 
postcommunism more specifically. Though we are specifically 
interested in comparing Baltic States with other states in the CEE 
and postcommunist region broadly, papers offering a comparative 
perspective are welcome even if they do not deal with Baltic cases 
specifically. Ethnic relations, socio-economic inequality and 
economic policies, gender issues, LGBT rights, environmental issues, 
are all fields of contestation worth exploring (the list is not meant 
to be exhaustive).We are open to a variety of themes - and 
interpretations - in order to ensure a well-rounded discussion around 
the theme of power and protest in postcommunism. Some of the 
questions contributors to this panel are particularly (but not 
exclusively) invited to investigate - in relation to one or more of 
the Central Eastern European States - are:

* What is the role of social movements, contestation and protest in 
the democratic process?
* What are the conditions of acceptability of a social movement: what 
is "too radical" and what is "legitimate" civil society?
* What are the institutional responses to protest and contestation 
and what do they reveal about the existing power structures?

Please submit your abstract of no more than 250 words by 10 September 
2013, indicating your full contact details, your institutional 
affiliation and a brief academic biography, at UKBSG - BASEES 2014 
(http://form.jotform.co/form/32102549946860).

For any questions on this panel, please contact Licia Cianetti at 
l.cianetti at ucl.ac.uk