Call for Papers: "Comparative Institutional Transformations and Institutional Design in the Post-Soviet Region" May 2006, Yerevan, Armenia Articles / Posted by Admin on Oct 23, 2005 - 11:34 AM Within the framework of the INTAS Network project 'Eurasian Political Studies Network: Developing comparative studies of regime transformations in multicultural societies and state- nation-building process in post-soviet region', the Eurasian Political Studies Network in cooperation with Yerevan State University announces a Call for Papers for the International Conference 'Comparative Institutional Transformations and Institutional Design in the Post-Soviet Region', to be held in Yerevan, Armenia, on 11- 13 May 2006. Political development in recent decades can be presented in terms of transitions, institutional redesign associated with system transformation, and the development of various regimes 'with adjectives', with democratic consolidation being achieved only in some cases. This transitional process has brought to the fore questions of constitution building, the formation of new political institutions, the creation of market economies, and in some cases the need for the resolution of ethno-national conflicts. This conference seeks to provide analysis of political institution formation and development in the post-Soviet countries from a comparative and historical perspective, combining both case studies and broad comparative analysis. Among the issues to be studied particular emphasis will be on: " The genesis of macropolitical institutions, including the development of presidential institution and legislatures in the region, their role, formal and informal authority, functions, interrelations, and their development over time and comparative country perspectives; " Elections and the development of electoral systems; " Parties and party politics; " Constitutional (re)design problems for new democracies. The conference will in addition address these issues within the methodology of comparative transitional studies and examine the problems of developing theoretical models and comparative frameworks in the analysis of recent transitional processes and democratic development. Such comparison should help answer the following questions: " Does the term 'post-communism' or 'post-Soviet societies' still matter? " Is there an identifiable 'post-Soviet political reality'; or are the relevant polities definitely diverging? " Can we reasonably talk about different modes of political development or just about different stages? " Are external or internal factors critical for such a divergence or convergence? " Are these factors essentially political or societal? " For each country, is the weight of the same factor(s) or the configuration of different factors (even their presence or absence) crucial for the chosen way of state-building and nation-building? " Can we reasonably consider each polity's political regime as mostly democratic, authoritarian, or neo-patrimonial, or just as 'transitional'? The preliminary list for conference panels includes: Comparative constitutional design and development Comparative democratisation Comparative institutional reform and development Elections and electoral processes Formal and informal institutions Lobbying Models of regime change Parliaments and their development The development of presidentialism Regime formation and development The methodology section will address following issues: 1. Process of transition 2. Quality of regime 3. Political culture 4. Constitutional design 5. Party system 6. Identity formation 7. Elites and their structures Please submit the abstracts (no more than 2 pages (750 words)) and brief CV by 10 February 2006 via email to: amarkarov@ysu.am, addressed to Dr. Alexander Markarov, Associate Professor of Political Science, Deputy Head, YSU International Relations Office. The full text of papers will be due by 5 May 2006. Papers to be between 4,000 and 9,000 words submitted as Word files. Please, append them with your brief scholarly biography of 150 words with your institutional affiliation, and email or regular address. Contributions in Russian or English are welcome. Participation of junior scholars from the region is particularly encouraged. It is expected that the conference papers will be published as an edited volume. The possible publication date of the volume: Spring 2007. We will appreciate circulating this call for papers among your colleagues. For additional information please contact Dr. Alexander Markarov, Associate Professor of Political Science, Deputy Head, YSU International Relations Office. E-mail: amarkarov@ysu.am Phone: (+374-10) 555 - 244 Fax (+374-10) 55 - 46 - 41 This article comes from CAYN   http://www.cayn.net/ The URL for this story is:   http://www.cayn.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=48