Call for Papers “Austerity Measures and Post-Socialist Neoliberalization”

You are invited to contribute a paper to the thematic issue of the Studia Europaea Journal with the topic “Austerity Measures and Post-Socialist Neoliberalization”, expected to be published in the thematic issue no. 4/2014.

The goal of this issue is twofold:
(1) to explore the processes of neoliberalization under post-socialist condition, and
(2) to discuss ideas regarding a new development pathway for Romania beyond neoliberalism.

Check the full Call for Paper below

Call for Papers

You are invited to contribute a paper to the journal Studia Europaea with the
topic “Austerity Measures and Post-Socialist Neoliberalization”, to be published in
the thematic issue no. 4/2014.

The goal of this issue is twofold: (1) to explore the processes of neoliberalization
under post-socialist condition, and (2) to discuss ideas regarding a new
development pathway for Romania beyond neoliberalism.

(1) The first set of papers is expected focusing on the analysis of neoliberalism
under post-socialist conditions. We are using the term „post-socialist condition” in
the sense framed by Nancy Fraser for example in her book from 1996, Justice
Interruptus: Critical Reflections on the “Postsocialist” Condition. Moreover, we aim
at undertaking the analytical potential of theories on neoliberalism elaborated by
David Harvey and Loïc Wacquant for the understanding of the current context of
changes across former socialist countries. We are expecting that theoretical work
on neoliberalism and neoliberalization will connect to empirical researches and
current key debates in several spheres of life affected by austerity measures and
neoliberalism, from economy through the social and cultural to the political.
Through such an approach we are trying to emphasise ways in which discrete
issues of these seemingly disconnected domains connect to each other, for example
in the broader frame of neoliberal political economy or ideology or politics of
culture or management of societal problems. Furthermore, the editors aspire on
giving space for the investigation of the tensions between the promises of the
European social agenda and the realities of social exclusion and marginalization
across countries and continents. Papers may relate to but need not be bound by the
following themes: economic crisis, austerity measures and the European social
agenda; neoliberalism and post-socialist condition; poverty, reduced school
participation, health inequality, labour-related deficiencies, uneven geographical
development, social insecurity and precariousness, cuts in social benefits and
rights, inclusion/exclusion of marginalized groups and their survival strategies
under the impact of neoliberalization; the rise of racism and nationalist populism
across Europe as political responses to the “economic crises” and as “justification”
of exclusionary practices against “undeserving” European citizens; the production
of new forms of socio-territorial segregation, marginalization and inequality; the
impact of neoliberalization on higher education and knowledge production, and
the effects of managerial practices from the latter on strengthening neoliberalism;
protests and other forms of resistance and alternatives to austerity and
neoliberalism.

(2) After 25 years of transformation, Romania’s development model is
neither economically sustainable nor socially inclusive. Romania is still the poorest
country in EU, with a fragile economy that is highly dependent on capital inflows
and whose main competitive advantage is cheap laboru. Neoliberal policies and
austerity measures which have frequently been applied in the country lead to a
tense social situation. Inequality is among the highest in Europe, public goods such
as health and education are under-financed and significant parts of the society are
excluded. Critical debates on neoliberalism might have become stronger in several
countries across Europe however, in the Romanian scholarly and policy-making
world they are still struggling for recognition. Moreover, there is a strong need for
new ideas on how to conceive (economic, social, human or community)
development, raise welfare levels, assure socio-economic rights from labor to
housing, create new job opportunities, enhance social cohesion, foster sustainable
growth, promote participation and (re)create the sense of social citizenship free of
nationalism, racism and xenophobia, and as well as on the role of the state and the
market in these processes.

Papers should be submitted in English.

Manuscript submission will be required by 15th of November, 2014.

Please send your papers to the guest editors:
Eniko Vincze: eniko_vincze@euro.ubbcluj.ro
Serban Vaetisi: vaetisis@yahoo.com

Guidelines for authors may be found here:
http://www.euro.ubbcluj.ro/studia/guide.htm

Past issues of Studia Europaea Journal can be browsed here:
http://www.euro.ubbcluj.ro/studia/issues.htm

Since 1996, the academic journal Studia Europaea, issued by the Faculty of
European Studies, has been representing an open arena for promoting research
endeavours. The journal is refereed by international specialists and officially
acknowledged by the Romanian National University Research Council (CNCSIS).
Studia Europaea is covered by several prestigious databeses, such as ProQuest CSA
Worldwide Political Science Abstracts, ProQuest CSA Sociological Abstracts or
Central and Eastern European Online Library (CEEOL).
Each article is reviewed by two independent academics in a “double-blind” system.
Senior as well as junior academics from Europe and from the United States have
found in Studia Europaea a way of expressing their preoccupations by publishing
academic articles that have focused on the European experience and perspectives in
various fields of social science.