On 7 and 8 October 2024, the German Association for East European Studies (DGO) and the Freie Universität Berlin will host the second Congress of Central and East European Studies (ceecon24) in Berlin. ceecon is the largest multidisciplinary congress on Central and Eastern Europe in the German-speaking world. It was established in 2022 as a cooperative project of the DGO and the Freie Universität’s Institute for East European Studies (Osteuropa-Institut).

ceecon provides the international research community with an important venue for exchanging and discussing the latest research findings on the region. The congress spotlights scholarly work on the Baltic States, Central and Eastern Europe, the South Caucasus, and Central Asia.

Academic exchange on topics relevant to all scholars in the field will take place in plenary sessions. Seven parallel sections will address research questions concerning a broad variety of topics and methodological approaches. A special session has been created for the presentation of research projects by junior scholars.

We welcome proposals for:

– individual papers for the sections listed below
– panels for the sections listed below

Proposals for panels should consist of three thematically relevant papers from different institutions and, preferably, from different disciplines. Please note that the organizers reserve the right to accept only individual papers.

– presentations by PhD students for the special session New Research Peer-spectives. (PhD students may also submit proposals for individual papers and for panels.)

For submissions, please use the respective application forms:

Submission form for individual papers: https://forms.gle/zciaKLtj17fDQAMu5
Submission form for panels: https://forms.gle/q7awgSB61FMcC8bD7
Submission form for PhD projects: https://forms.gle/QAdWsF9Dr7hBFwSe8

Junior researchers whose papers are accepted will be invited to compete in the Young ceecon Award for best submission. More information will be provided upon official acceptance of a proposal for the congress. Eligibility for participation in the competition is limited to junior researchers and post docs up to three years after submission of their dissertation as of the date of receipt of a ceecon proposal.

Deadline for submissions in all categories is 31 January 2024

We look forward to receiving submissions for the following sections:

Quantitative Insights on Developments in Eastern Europe
Quantitative analysis is instrumental in identifying causal relationships, generalizing findings across broader populations, and providing evidence-based policy advice. The section welcomes submissions in all fields of economics, sociology, political science, and cognate disciplines that employ quantitative methods to study the region. While there are no restrictions on topic, preference will be given to submissions that address research questions relevant to historical or current developments and policies in Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, or Central Asia and use data from one or more countries in the region. Comparative perspectives with other world regions are welcome as well.

Coordinators:
Olga Popova: popova@ios-regensburg.de
Michael Rochlitz: michael.rochlitz@area.ox.ac.uk

The Establishment of Security? (False) Expectations of Peacetime Orders
The start of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has also provoked intense debates over the false hopes and expectations projected on the supposed security of peacetime orders. The pan-European peacetime order developed by the events of 1989-1991 has already revealed how fragile it was during the civil war that followed Yugoslavia’s disintegration. However, its interpretation in Western Europe assumed its stability and effectiveness. In this respect, it resembles interpretations of the peacetime order established by the treaties that ended the First World War or the Pax Sovietica. Drawing on a variety of perspectives (from history, law, and social or, as the case may be, political science), this section would like to look at the example of peacetime orders in Eastern Europe and discuss why they are interpreted as long-term promises of security and long-term orders, even though they are in reality ultimately just a security promise that cannot be fulfilled.

Coordinators:
Guido Hausmann: Guido.Hausmann@geschichte.uni-regensburg.de
Heidi Hein-Kircher: heidi.hein-kircher@herder-institut.de

Law as a Bulwark against the Abuse of Power
One of the primary functions of law is to limit the exercise of power and to provide a protected space for the free development of all members of a community. This function of law as a “bulwark against the abuse of power” is currently being fundamentally questioned (yet again): In the international sphere, the prohibition on the use of force is being called into question. Within national legal systems, hitherto generally accepted instruments for limiting state power are coming under increasing pressure. In addition, questions concerning protection against the abuse of power by private parties, for example, in family and corporate law, are being renegotiated. These positions are often linked to the topos of “Europe”. What are the special signatures of “Eastern Europe” in this area? This section is open to contributions from other disciplines that address, for example, sanctions regimes, the judiciary and the media, religious freedom, or artificial intelligence.

Coordinators:
Burkhard Breig: b.breig@ostfalia.de
Rainer Wedde: Rainer.Wedde@hs-rm.de

Believing and/or Belonging: Religious identity in social and political conflict
The end of the Soviet Union resulted in a return of religion to the societies of Central and Eastern Europe. Rediscovered or newly emerged religious identity has influenced social and political conflicts in all countries of the region ever since. On the one hand, historical, theological, and political paradigms shape the way conflicts are framed and explained. On the other hand, sociological observations on the religious self-location of the population are used to make conclusions about the (de)escalating potential of religious beliefs. This section combines interdisciplinary research on the significance of religion and religiosity in Central and Eastern Europe in the context of social conflicts and wars. Accordingly, we welcome research about different religions from a wide range of disciplines.

Coordinators:
Regina Elsner: regina.elsner@uni-muenster.de
Jennifer Wasmuth: Jennifer.Wasmuth@theologie.uni-goettingen.de

Contemporary Self-positionings
Self-positioning in the dimensions of regional, national, and transnational contexts plays a crucial role for the self-understanding of cultures, especially with regard to the negotiation of identities. This applies to Eastern Europe as well. Processes of self-positioning occur in a particular way in different social fields, such as politics, economy, literature, arts, media, or language, to name just a few. This section seeks to shed light on contemporary examples of self-positioning from an interdisciplinary perspective. Particular attention is paid to the question how current self-positionings can be contextualized and understood against the background of epochal turning points such as 1945 or 1989/91 respectively. Which changes or continuities manifest themselves in the various social fields, and how are these fields interrelated?

Coordinators:
Anna Artwinska: anna.artwinska@uni-leipzig.de
Alfred Gall: agall@uni-mainz.de

Migration in Times of Polycrisis
Migration has accelerated and intensified worldwide, with particular and profound effects on the countries of Eastern and Southeastern Europe. In addition, a new wave of often forced and politically coopted migrants and refugees from Eastern and Southeastern Europe is impacting Western European societies. This section analyses the consequences for the design of administrative migration regimes, for xenophobia and the rise of populism in host societies, the depopulation of certain areas in countries of origin, and the challenges to economic development due to the lack of qualified labor. With the ease of travel and online communication, transnationalism brings to the fore migrant diasporas and their politicization, economic remittances, and their role in political and territorial conflicts. Inter- and multidisciplinary approaches that combine political science or sociology with other disciplines, such as anthropology, economics, geography, history, and cultural studies, are most welcome.

Coordinators:
Fabian Burkhardt: burkhardt@ios-regensburg.de
Christian Fröhlich: c.froehlich@fu-berlin.de

The Impact of War on Food Systems and the Environment
Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine has destroyed both human life and infrastructure, contaminated much of the country’s habitat and arable land, disrupted ecosystems and international food security, and enhanced risks of drought. The effort needed to restore agrarian and natural habitats will be enormous. However, they could also facilitate a green reconstruction. Internationally, Russia’s war damaged environmental policy in many ways. Yet it also incentivised the faster deployment of renewable energies. Authoritarian governments in the region have put increased pressure on environmental movements, while the economic difficulties caused by the war have offered a pretext to roll back environmental regulations. Nonetheless, activism continues, at home or abroad. We seek contributions that address the war’s impact on food systems and the environment or its impact on research in these fields. Contributions by researchers in different disciplines or practitioners may be analytical, conceptual, or action- and policy-oriented. This call for papers was organized together with the research network “The Impact of War on Food Systems and the Environment”.

Coordinators:
Henryk Alff: Henryk.Alff@hnee.de
Alexander Vorbrugg: alexander.vorbrugg@unibe.ch

Special session for the presentation of PhD research projects: New Research Pe(e)rspectives
Curious about your fellow scholars’ work? Junge DGO invites PhD candidates from all disciplines related to Central and Eastern European Studies to showcase their research at ceecon24. As part of our innovative peer-presentation format, we pair up-and-coming scholars based on similarities of research interests. These joint presentations thus highlight current research trends from different peer-spectives. Connect with peers, present your findings, engage in stimulating discussion, and network with advanced researchers. Please provide personal information (a short CV), title, and stage of PhD project, a brief abstract (max. 3,000 characters), as well as keywords concerning your methodology, research area, topic, and period. We will offer training and detailed presentation format guidance in an online workshop before the event. Join us at ceecon24! We can’t wait to hear from you!

Coordinators:
Matthias Melcher: Matthias.Melcher@lrz.uni-muenchen.de
Annemarie Polheim: annemarie.elisabeth.polheim@geschichte.uni-giessen.de

There are no conference fees. Participants are expected to pay for travel and accommodation themselves. Junior researchers and other researchers may apply for subsidies to cover travel.

Organising committee:
Kirsten Bönker, Gabriele Freitag, Alfred Gall, Alexander Libman, Phillip Schroeder, Rainer Wedde

Contact:
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Osteuropakunde / German Association for East European Studies (DGO)
Schaperstraße 30
10719 Berlin
congress@dgo-online.org