May 9, 2006

CfA: Security, Technology, Borders. EU responses to New Challenges

CALL FOR PAPERS

THE SECOND CHALLENGE TRAINING SCHOOL


Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
Place du Congrès, 1
1000 Brussels
Belgium

6-7 October 2006


SECURITY, TECHNOLOGY, BORDERS
EU RESPONSES TO NEW CHALLENGES



ABOUT CHALLENGE

“The Changing Landscape of European Liberty and Security”
(CHALLENGE), is a European Commission-funded project that seeks to facilitate a
more responsive and responsible assessment of rules and practices of
security.
The objectives of CHALLENGE are: To understand the merging between
internal and external security and evaluate the changing character of the
relationship between liberty and security in Europe; To analyse the
role of different institutions in charge of security and their current
transformations; To facilitate and enhance a new interdisciplinary network
of scholars who have been influential in the re-conceptualising and
analysis of many of the theoretical, political, sociological, legal and
policy implications of new forms of violence and political identity.



THE RATIONALE OF THE TRAINING SEMINARS

The training seminars will bring together young researchers from
universities, research institutes and think tanks to deepen and widen their
knowledge in subjects dealing with freedom, security and justice. This
is the second training seminar out of six that will be organized by
CEPS in the next four years.
The training seminars constitute a good opportunity for researchers
to see how the experts confront their position on these contested
issues. It will involve experts from both the academia and policy making
worlds. As young researchers rarely have the opportunity to approach
experts in these fields, this training seminar will enable them to interact
intensively with experts whose perspectives affect their own position.

STRUCTURE AND THEMES

Each training seminar is organized thus: Five panels each composed of
three papers maximum and a discussant who is an expert on the issues
examined by young researchers.

The training seminars will address the following subjects:
1. Perspectives on the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP);
2. Borders, biometrics and security;
3. Police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters in the EU;
4. The politics of recognition and integration of migrants in the EU.
5. Migration, asylum and free movement: Social and economic issues;
6. The nexus between internal and external security: the EU
anti-terrorism activities.

An expert panel is organized around problems investigated by young
researchers in the training seminar.

The Changing Nature of EU Border Control

The control of borders is one of the central policies of the EU.
Thus, in recent years, a growing number of instruments have been
introduced, new institutions crafted and policies hardened. However, new
practices raise unprecedented questions: How effective can borders be managed
today? Who controls EU borders? How does border management affect EU
policies in the fields of VISA, movement of goods, persons, services and
capital?

This two-day Training Seminar seeks to examine various aspects of the
management of EU borders at a time of increasing perceived threats. It
includes an examination of new instruments (SIS II, VIS), their
implications on visa policy, migration, asylum and cooperation over
international security issues. Specific innovations such the use of biometric
identifiers should also be assessed. Further, by encouraging case studies,
we aim to investigate not only the macro (state-to-state relations),
but also micro interactions at borders. The cultural, political and
economic dimensions of these practices should be scrutinized. Finally, the
seminar will embed substantive issues in strong theoretical and
conceptual analyses.

CEPS invites submission of proposals for papers on any of the
following topics:

· Theory. An analysis of the theoretical premises of the
concept of borders. This may involve discourse analysis (securitization),
perception and image theory, conceptual history, historical sociology of
the nexus between borders and security and/or borders and sovereignty,
normative theory and the political act of drawing lines; social theory
and identity as they relate to borders.


The institutional aspects of the integrated borders management
(IBM). A discussion and evaluation of the main institutions that partake in
building a field of border management. This may involve an assessment
of the responsibilities and limits of the EU borders management Agency
and its interactions with other institutions; an analysis of Member
States’ attitudes towards the Agency; the role and activities of EUROPOL,
EUROGENFOR, the European Border Guard; a debate on the state-of-the art
research on the political (variable geometry) and legal instruments of
the management of borders. In this context, a focus on the impact of
new initiatives such as Prüm is encouraged.


Technology. An examination of surveillance and security technology.
An investigation of the “smart borders” approach; a focus on databases
and borders control; an assessment of the implications of Directive
2004/82 on transmission of passenger data; a comparison between EU and US
practices.

· Agreements with third countries on asylum and migration
issues (regular and irregular). An assessment of the evolving importance
of migration and asylum issues in the management of external borders
(e.g. delocalization of borders).

· Cross-border cooperation. Here, proposals may address,
inter alia, the problem of cross-borders minorities and the integration of
the Schengen acquis, frequent travelers programmes, police cooperation.

· Visa policy. An examination of differentiate regimes of
visa policy and their overall status in the EU structure of border
management. This could be done through a comparison between EU policies
towards Eastern Europe on the one hand, and Southern Mediterranean on the
other hand.


EXPERTS ROUNDTABLE

The experts invited for this roundtable will be responsible for
discussing students’ papers.

Thierry Balzacq, Centre for European Policy Studies, Belgium
Jakub Boratyński, Stefan Batory Foundation, Poland
Alessandro dal Lago, University of Genoa, Italy
Juliet Lodge, University of Leeds, UK
Nikos Scandamis, University of Athens
R.B.J. Walker, University of Keele, UK


ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

• Holding a university degree in law, political science, philosophy,
sociology, international relations or economics;
• Currently studying or doing research in a EU country;


APPLICATION DEADLINE: 1st July 2006

To apply, please send a short abstract of no more than 200 words,
including your institutional affiliation and contact details.

Selected candidates will be allocated a fixed grant of 200 euros.


CONTACT PERSON

Dr Thierry Balzacq, Research Fellow, Centre for European Policy
Studies (CEPS). Place du Congrès 1, B-1000 Brussels. Please submit your
application by e-mail to: thierry.balzacq@ceps.be. Due to the large
interest in CEPS activities, note that we will not be able to deal with
telephone questions.


DRAFT STRUCTURE OF THE SEMINAR


DAY ONE

9:00 – 9:15 Registration
9:15 – 9:45 Keynote speaker: Ilkka LAITINEN, Head of Frontex, the
European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the
External Borders of the Member States of the European Union

9:45 – 10:00 Open questions

10:00 – 11:30 First Experts roundtable

11:30 – 12:00 Coffee break

12:00 – 13:30 First Panel

13:00 – 14:30 Lunch

14:30 – 16:00 Second Panel

16:00 – 16:30 Coffee break

16:30 – 18:00 Third Panel

DAY TWO

10:00 – 11:30 Second Experts roundtable

11:30 – 12:00 Coffee break

12:00 – 13:00 Fourth Panel

13:00 – 14:30 Lunch

14:30 – 16:00 Fifth Panel

16:00 – 16:30 Coffee break

16:30 – 18:00 Sixth Panel

[sursa: balkan]