CEJISS invites submissions to the next thematic section focused on decolonising CEE. This thematic section seeks to connect politics in and of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), on the one hand, and decolonial approaches, on the other hand. We understand decolonial approaches (decolonial thinking and praxis) as all those that aim to unmask and undo the ‘colonial matrix of power’, colonial forms of domination, hierarchisation or marginalisation. The thematic section is open to a wide range of contributions dealing with what it means and what it requires to decolonise CEE.
We encourage authors to define their own way of approaching the topic. Decolonising CEE may involve different facets, and we are interested in exploring their multiplicity. This should enable the thematic section to consider the complexity of CEE’s (de)coloniality and contribute to broader debates in International Relations (IR) or other related disciplines. Hence, contributors can critically examine the idea of CEE and its spatial demarcation, the current relevance of colonial(-like) practices, decolonial approaches emanating from within the region, the region’s role as an agent or target of colonisation, its contribution to the world that sustains the colonial matrix of power, the ways the decolonial theme has already been used in CEE politics (i.e. beyond purely academic debates) and with which implications and other questions. We also welcome contributions considering the limits of decolonial approaches. When addressing these issues, contributors may focus on the region as a whole or particular countries or communities in the region.
We are interested in contributions pertaining to the issues of race and racism, gender, (international) hierarchies, imperialism, nation- and state-building, migration, geopolitical imaginaries, multiple/entangled modernities, politics and popular culture, critical assessments of relevant institutions (norms, regional integration etc.), Eurocentrism and Orientalism. Please note that this list is indicative rather than exhaustive.
When addressing these issues, we welcome efforts to draw on critical intellectual perspectives from within the region. We simultaneously encourage the contributors to consider the risks of romanticising regional knowledges and portraying CEE as homogeneous, exotic or sharply distinct from Western Europe.
- We are interested in contributions from scholars who have already worked on decolonial thinking but also those engaged in other critical approaches relevant to addressing the issues and questions mentioned above.
- We invite scholars working in the field of International Relations but also Area Studies, Politics, Sociology, Political Economy and others.
- We also welcome contributions that situate decolonial approaches to CEE in relation to broader decolonial efforts in IR or other social sciences.
Thematic section
The thematic sections of CEJISS aim to facilitate a forum for authors to publish timely academic reflections on selected topics. The length of thematic section contributions is 4,000-8,000 words (including abstract, references, footnotes).
Contributions to thematic sections may include the following types of articles.
- Standard research articles whose ambitions, research goal and framework are adjusted to the length of thematic section contributions (4,000-8,000 words). Papers with a strong narrative are particularly encouraged.
- Sophisticated academic essays (op-eds) that develop or build on the existing theoretical repertoire of International Relations (or related disciplines), offer a clear argument and contribute to academic debates.
Articles that lie between the two aforementioned types of papers are also appreciated. In any case, thematic section contributions should be of a scholarly character.
Please follow our submission guidelines. For more information about our thematic sections, please see here.
Timeline
- Deadline for abstracts (about 200 words): extended to 15 February 2023
- Abstract selection (acceptance emails): 24 February 2023
- Final manuscript submission deadline: 31 May 2023
- Review process and paper revisions: June-October 2023
- Standard (print) publication: 8 December 2023
In order to submit your abstract or get more information, please contact Dr Martina Varkockova (deputy editor-in-chief) at varkockova@cejiss.org. Please use the following email subject: thematic section – decolonising CEE.