
Academic workshop on
The Broken Umbrella
Shifting Security Architecture
in Europe and the Asia-Pacific
9-11 December 2020
20-22 October 2021
14-16 December 2022
University of Antwerp, Belgium
Call for Papers
Application deadline: 1 June 2020
Notice of acceptance: 1 July 2020
Full details below
On 9-11 December 2020, our academic workshop on shifting security architecture in Europe and the Asia-Pacific would have taken place at the University of Antwerp. Due to the pandemic we had to postpone this workshop first to 20-22 October 2021. Now we hope to receive our guests in Antwerp from 14 until 16 December 2022.
The end of the Cold War did not lead in the immediate post-Cold War period to fundamental changes in the US-centred alliance systems in either Europe or the Asia-Pacific region. Despite concerns about a possible reduction in America’s defence commitments in the wake of the disappearance of the shared Soviet threat, throughout the 1990s and until the mid-2000s European states made minimal efforts to diversify their security dependence on the US. In the Asia-Pacific region, strategic uncertainties associated with a rising China and the related absence of collective security mechanisms ensured the continuity of the US-led bilateral alliances, also known as the “hub-and-spoke” security system.
Regional fears of possible US disengagement in the post-Cold War era were initially about Washington’s political willingness. However, America’s relative decline has gradually turned the question into that of US ability to sustain its security commitments, as well as a matter of alliance burden-sharing.
This is an opportune time to comparatively examine regional responses to the perceived decline in US alliance credibility by focusing on the period from the early to mid-2000s onwards.
The workshop will seek to answer the following key questions:
- Given the changes in America’s willingness to maintain its security commitments as a result of its relative decline, how are the US-led alliances in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region being transformed in terms of objectives, burden-sharing and operational capabilities? Is there a strengthening or a weakening of the examined alliance relationships? To what extent are the interests of the allies diverging?
- How are the American allies responding to the changing power relations beyond their alliance framework with the US, both intra-regionally and inter-regionally (i.e., at the Europe-Asia level)? What are the main trends in alignment formation?
- What accounts for the similarities and differences between the alliance and alignment dynamics in the two regions?
- Based on the current trends in alliance transformation, what are the future prospects for the US-led alliances from both a short-term (5 years) and mid- to long-term (10-15 years) perspective?
Expected results and impact of the workshop
This comparative study has both theoretical and prescriptive significance. Theoretically, the study directly addresses the question of hedging vs. abandoning. Do states keep the alliance with the US or do they abandon the US alliance in favour of another form of security cooperation? What kind of alliance transformation do we observe in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region? Does the observed transformation support the “alliance abandonment” theory, or some mixed “hedging” strategies? In terms of policy prescriptions, our comparative research findings will inform the European governments of Asia’s responses to the “Trump phenomenon,” and the Asian governments of Europe’s reactions.
The main contribution of the proposed workshop to the current scholarly debates on US-led alliances will be its comprehensive and comparative aspect. Not only will the workshop provide an in-depth examination of the transformation of the American-led alliances, as well as of US allies’ responses to potential American disengagement from regional security, it will also place this analysis within a comparative framework by bridging the dynamics in the European and Asian-Pacific contexts. This will also allow for a more accurate projection of current trends into the near- to mid-term future, as well as for the formulation of specific future scenarios on the evolution of alliances and alignments, in general.
Keynote Speakers
Sven Biscop
Director of the Europe in the World Programme at the Egmont – Royal Institute for International Relations in Brussels
Stephen G. Brooks
Professor of Government at Dartmouth
Emil Kirchner
Jean Monnet Professor and Emeritus Professor at the University of Essex
Sten Rynning
Professor of International Relations at the Department of Political Science, University of Southern Denmark
He is the author of numerous books and articles, including ‘NATO in Afghanistan: The Liberal Disconnect’ (Stanford University Press 2012), co-author (with Theo Farrell and Terry Terriff) of ‘Transforming Military Power since the Cold War: Britain, France, and the United States’, 1991-2012 (Cambridge University Press 2013), and ‘The False Promise of Continental Concert: Russia, the West, and the Necessary Balance of Power’, International Affairs (issue 91/3, 2015, pp. 539-552). His article ‘The Divide: France, Germany and political NATO’, appeared in International Affairs (issue 93/2, 2017, pp. 267-289), and his edited book, ‘South Asia and the Great Powers: International Relations and Regional Security’, was published by IB Tauris in February 2017.
Yoichiro Sato
Professor in the College and Graduate School of Asia Pacific Studies at the Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University in Beppu
He has published ten academic books including ‘The Rise of China and International Security’ (co-edited with Kevin Cooney, Routledge, 2008), ‘The U.S.-Japan Security Alliance’ (co-edited with Takashi Inoguchi and G. John Ikenberry, Palgrave, 2011), ‘U.S. Engagement in the Asia Pacific’ (co-edited with See Seng Tang, Cambria, 2015), and ‘Re-rising Japan: Its Strategic Power in International Relations’ (co-edited with Hidekazu Sakai, Peter Lang, 2017). He has appeared in various international media, including Time, Newsweek, USA Today, National Public Radio, Voice of America, Agence France-Presse, Al Jazeera, Radio Australia, Bloomberg, MSNBC, and TVNZ.
Dean Sato holds a B.A. in Law from Keio University, an M.A. in International Studies from the University of South Carolina, and a PhD in Political Science from the University of Hawaii.
Thomas S. Wilkins
Senior Lecturer in International Security at the University of Sydney
Programme Outline
Wednesday
3 February 2021
14h00-15h30
Public openinglecture on
Europe & Security Cooperation
Lecture by Stephen G. Brooks
Professor of Government at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire
Response by Sven Biscop
Director of the Europe in the World Programme at the Egmont, Royal Institute for International Relations in Brussels & Professor at the Ghent Institute for International Studies (GIIS) at Ghent University
Thursday
21 October 2021
Welcome by UCSIA
Introduction by chair
Introductory lecture on
Alliance and Alignments
in Times of Strategic Uncertainty
Thomas Wilkins
Centre for International Security Studies, University of Sydney
Response
Q & A
Coffee Break
Paper Presentations Panel I
(3 x 15 min, response by moderator, Q&A)
Lunch
Introduction by chair
Introductory lecture on
Alliance Dynamics and New Security
Partnerships in Europe
Sten Rynning
Department of Political Science, University of Southern Denmark
Response
Q & A
Coffee Break
Paper Presentations Panel II
(3 x 15 min, response by moderator, Q&A)
End of Day Programme
Friday
22 October 2021
Welcome by UCSIA
Introduction by chair
9h15
Introductory lecture on
Alliance Dynamics and New Security
Partnerships in the Asia-Pacific Region
Yoichiro Sato
College and Graduate School of Asia Pacific Studies, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Beppu
Response
Q & A
Coffee Break
Paper Presentations Panel III
(3 x 15 min, response by moderator, Q&A)
Lunch
Introduction by chair
Introductory lecture on
New Security Partnerships Between
Europe and the Asia-Pacific Region
Emil Kirchner
Jean Monnet Professor, University of Essex
Response
Q & A
Coffee Break
Paper Presentations Panel IV
(3 x 15 min, response by moderator, Q&A)
End of Day Programme
All events on security
Security Cooperation Europe & the United States
webinar
3 February 2021
Security Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific Region
webinar
3 June 2021
Alliance and Alignments in Times of Strategic Uncertainty
webinar
3 December 2021
The Broken Umbrella Shifting Security Architecture in Europe and the Asia-Pacific
academic workshop
14-16 December 2022
*** new date ***
Call for Papers
We welcome both theoretical contributions that engage with the concepts of “alliance” and “alignment”, and theorise about regional responses to changing power relations in Europe and the Asia-Pacific, and empirical papers.
Papers presented at the workshop will focus on, but will not be limited to, the following case-studies:
The regional level in Europe:
- EU’s defence integration, especially after Brexit (PESCO)
- Bilateral alignments between European states that are both EU and NATO members: for example, France-UK, France-Germany; Visegrad countries
- A new potential collective security organisation in Europe that includes Russia (in the form of a strengthened OSCE or a fundamentally transformed NATO)
The regional level in the Asia-Pacific region:
- Bilateral alignments between US allies (or close security partners): for example, Australia-Japan, Japan-the Philippines, Japan-India
- “Minilaterals” that include the US and its allies (or close security partners): US-Japan-ROK, US-Japan-Australia, US-Japan-India
- Alignments between US allies and other regional states, for example, Japan-Vietnam; and alignments between US allies and US strategic competitors, for example, ROK-China
The inter-regional Europe-Asia level:
- Alignments between US allies in the Asia-Pacific region and the EU: Japan-EU, ROK-EU, Australia-EU
- Alignments between US allies in the Asia-Pacific region and European states: for example, Japan-UK, Japan-France
- Alignments between US allies (in Europe or the Asia-Pacific) and US strategic competitors: for example, Japan-Russia, EU-China
Application Procedure
- fill in the online submission form
- upload the abstract (750 – 1.000 words including references, in English) of your proposed paper
- upload your curriculum vitae, in English, list of publications included (if available)
Application deadline: 1 June 2020
Day(s)
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Hour(s)
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Selection Criteria
- be a doctoral student or postdoctoral researcher
- be involved in ongoing academic research relevant to the themes addressed in the sessions of the workshop
- respect formal requirements of the application process
- submit a well written paper proposal, related to the main topic of the workshop and representative of your research work, indicating the methodology and theoretical underpinning of your research
Selection Procedure
the selection of participants will be made on a competitive basis by the members of the organizing scientific committee headed by the academic director of UCSIA. The papers will be examined through a blind refereeing process. Incomplete applications will not be considered.
Notice of acceptance:
1 July 2020 at the latest
Workshop Attendance
- conference attendance, meals and accommodation for the selected presenters are free of charge
- all participants are expected to arrange and pay for their own travel
- all participants are expected to take part in the full programme
Presentation and publication opportunity
- selected participants will present their papers in a panel session
(20 minutes in English) - a selection of papers presented at the workshop will be considered for publication
Organizers
Elena Atanassova-Cornelis, Research Group International Politics, University of Antwerp
Sven Biscop, Royal Institute for International Relations, Brussels & Ghent Institute for International Studies
Yoichiro Sato, College and Graduate School of Asia Pacific Studies, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Beppu
Tom Sauer, Research Group International Politics, University of Antwerp
Stijn Latré, Director of UCSIA
Coordinator & Contact
Barbara Segaert
Project Coordinator Europe & Solidarity, UCSIA
T | +32 (0) 3 265 49 60
In Cooperation With
UCSIA vzw
Universitair Centrum Sint-Ignatius Antwerpen
Egmont
Royal Institute for International Relations
Research Group International Politics
focuses on international security, international diplomacy, and the political economy of international institutions
Practical details
Date & Time
Public lecture: 9 December 2020, 19h00-21h00
Call for Papers
Notice of Acceptance: 1 July 2020
Full details | Online submission form
Venue
City Campus – Hof van Liere
Prinsstraat 13 & 13 B, 2000 Antwerp
BELGIUM
Travelling to Antwerp from Abroad
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