DEADLINE TO SUBMIT AN ABSTRACT MONDAY 4TH JULY 2011
*Regional Association One Day Winter Conference, **Friday 25th November 2011 London, UK* * * *Contested Regions: Territorial Politics and Policy* * * *To register go to: http://www.regional-studies-assoc.ac.uk/* * * *CALL FOR PAPERS* *Conference themes:*** Contributions are invited which focus primarily, although not necessarily exclusively, on one or more of the following themes: · Remapping of regions and localities and the implications of this for multilevel governance, policy success or policy failure; · Global comparative perspectives on models of regional and metropolitan governance; · New sites and forms of regional conflict: inter-regional, intra- regional, and in-between regional; · The role of territorial politics in regional strategies for economic development and state redistribution; · Cooperation, disputes and political struggles around borders /boundaries/ sovereignty; · The politics of local and regional infrastructures; models and practices of decentralisation and the impacts of this on territorial justice * * The last two decades have been dominated by discourses affirming a resurgence of regions as the primary spatial scale at which competing political and economic agendas are convened, not least those pertaining to increasing competitiveness, while simultaneously tackling entrenched inequalities, encouraging progressive planning and enabling piecemeal democratic rights. Part and parcel of this discourse has been a series of well documented territorial conflicts, contests and struggles – most notably centered on national and sub-national disputes around notions of *inter alia * identity, sovereignty, borders, legitimacy and democracy. Alongside this, however, we are seeing a growing appreciation of an alternative set of territorial politics; one which is leading researchers to focus on new *loci *, and to engage with new forms, of *intra-regional* disparities and dispute. This has become increasingly acute *vis-à-vis* a wider context combining accelerating processes of global economic integration with geographical differentiation, and as rapid urbanization now sees more than 50% of the world’s population living in cities. On the one hand globalization is thus fuelling claims of a resurgence of cities as drivers of competitiveness. Yet, on the other hand, substantive expressions of accelerated urbanization are increasingly challenging existing urban economic infrastructures and urban-regional governance, particularly as metropolitan landscapes stretch far beyond their traditional territorial boundaries. The extraordinarily rapid urbanization underway in China offers a vivid example of the challenges posed. Stirred into action by these developments, the first decade of this century has seen a whole body of research outlining the emergence of a new and critically important geographical and institutional phenomenon on the world stage – the metropolitan city-region. Synonymous with much of this work has been a series of normative claims relating to how metropolitan regions are: 1) The basic motors of the national economies within which they are located; 2) Fundamental to economic and social revitalisation; and 3) Vital for establishing effective planning and policymaking. In the USA this has precipitated calls for a ‘New Regionalism’ to consolidate fragmenting governance at the metropolitan level. But this is only part of the story. For the pace of change – particularly in relation to their size, scale and number– is leaving these pivotal societal and political-economic formations reliant on increasingly outdated and inadequate institutional structures, infrastructures, territorialities, statutory frameworks and supports. And herein rests the tension: as the demand for more ‘appropriate’, widely understood to mean more flexible, networked and smart forms of urban and regional planning and governance arrangements increases, new *loci* and/or expressions of territorial cooperation and conflict are emerging around questions to do with increased competitiveness, new economic developments, infrastructure, collective provision of services, and governmentalised re-mappings of state space. In this context then it is timely to ask some searching questions about these new intra-regional territorial dynamics and politics, to begin the process of developing appropriate vocabularies for mapping and conceptualising the transforming metropolitan economic, political and social landscape, and to explore notable successes and failures in response to the profound practical challenges. The Regional Studies Association Winter Conference 2011 on *Contested Regions *presents an opportunity to discuss and debate these important issues, to establish the need and nature of future research imperatives in this field, and to address the concerns, and challenges confronting practitioners and policymakers. The conference organizers are keen to attract papers and sessions which address a broad research and policy agenda, including contributions from any discipline which can offer relevant insights at local and regional levels. Papers which are collaborative, international or multi-disciplinary are especially welcome. *Programme * The day will consist of both parallel workshop sessions and plenary sessions. *Plenary Speakers* *Morning Session:* · *Spaces of collective provision: ‘old’ territorial politics in the ‘new’ economy?* *Professor Andy Jonas, University of Hull* · *Suburban governance and the regional question: the Canadian perspective* *Professor Roger Keil, York University, Canada* · *Regional complexity, governance and the region – Problematizing ‘thick’ and ‘thin’ territories* *Professor Anssi Paasi, Academy of Finland & University of Oulu* *Afternoon Session:* · *Political geographies and the public realm* *Professor Kevin Morgan, Cardiff University* · *Relational approaches to regions and the place of politics* *Professor Allan Cochrane, Open University* * * *Target Audience* The conference is open to all: academics, policy makers and practitioners. *Submission Details* Please submit offers of papers in the form of 400 word abstracts through the Regional Studies Association on-line conference portal by Monday 4th July 2011. Your *MS* Word file should contain your name, telephone, fax and e-mail details. To submit go https://eiemea.certain.com/rsa/getdemo.ei?id=1010024&s=_39K0KNBWM and follow the *Winter Conference Call for Papers 2011* link. Proposals will be considered by the Conference Programme Committee against the criteria of originality and interest, subject balance and geographical spread.** *Prices:* RSA Student Member £45, RSA Early Career/Associate Member £95and RSA Individual/Corporate Member £170. *Non-members*: Student £85, Early Career/Associate (retired) £160 and Individual/Corporate £225 *Local Organisers: *John Harrison: *j.harris...@lboro.ac.uk*, Martin Jones: *m...@aber.ac.uk*, and Gordon MacLeod; *gordon.macl...@durham.ac.uk* *RSA Organiser*: Elizabeth Mitchell: *elizabeth.mitch...@rsa-ls.ac.uk* Regional Studies Association, PO Box 2058, Seaford, BN25 4QU, UK, Tel: +44 (0)1323 899 698, Fax: +44 (0)1323 899 798 Email: eve...@rsa-ls.ac.uk, www.regional-studies-assoc.ac.uk, Reg. Charity No. 1084165, Reg. in England & Wales No. 4116288, VAT No. 393 7705 16 Kind Regards Elizabeth Mitchell Conference & Membership Officer Regional Studies Association PO Box 2058 Seaford BN25 4QU tel: 0044 (0) 1323 899 698 fax: 0044 (0) 1323 899 798
