Events

The network officially kicked off on 27 April 2022 and we have a full schedule for the next three years, including our ongoing Discussion Series, our Reading Group and an active presence at European and international conferences.

Check out below the events that we have planned for 2022 and make sure to join our mailing list to receive our newsletter and take part in our network’s activities!

Discussion Series

We have an incredible line-up of speakers for this term, so be sure to join us!

Wednesday 26 October 2022: Dr Nora Fisher Onar (University of San Francisco), “Decentering European Foreign Policy”. Sign up here.

Wednesday 2 November 2022: Professor Ian Manners (Lund University), title TBC. The Eventbrite link will be shared shortly.

More speakers will be announced soon, so keep an eye out!

Past Discussion Series lectures

On Wednesday 15 June 2022 Professor Milja Kurki (University of Aberystwyth) delivered a talk on “Relationalities, Communities and Multispecies”.

We held our Launch Event and the first instalment of our Discussion Series on Wednesday 27 April at 4 pm CET/3 pm UK time. Emilian Kavalski (NAWA Chair Professor of Complex Systems, Jagiellonian University) delivered a keynote lecture, titled “What Can Relationality Be Good For in IR and European Studies?”, which was followed by an engaging discussion with our network members. You can watch our first Discussion Series below.

The Discussion Series will continue with bimonthly online sessions and will run until the end of 2022. We look forward to having you there!

Relational Theories Reading Group

Our first Reading Group session will take place on 11 May 2022 (3pm BST / 4pm CEST) and you can sign up here. The session will revolve around the following questions: (1) What is a relational approach? and (2) How can a relational approach help us advance European Studies?

Tapping into recent debates, and complementing the discussion during our April Launch Event with Prof. Emilian Kavalski, we suggest participants to read the following articles before joining the reading group session:

Our debate will discuss these readings and their main messages: How do they present relationalism? What are commonalities and differences? How can relationalism help us better understand Europe and the European Union? Which work in European Studies already exists that takes a relational approach and which are avenues for further research?

Our second Reading Group session will take place on Wednesday 29 June 2022 (4 pm CET/3 pm BTS) and you can sign up here. This second session will revolve around the following question: How to adopt a relational approach?

Tapping into recent debates, and complementing the discussion during our 2nd Discussion Series session with Prof. Milja Kurki, we suggest participants to read one or more of following articles before joining the reading group session:

  • Hafner-Burton, E., Kahler, M., & Montgomery, A. (2009). Network Analysis for International Relations. International Organization, 63(3), 559-592. doi:10.1017/S0020818309090195
  • Adler-Nissen Rebecca and Pouliot, Vincent. Power in practice: Negotiating the international intervention in Libya. European Journal of International Relations. 20(4): 889-911. doi:10.1177/1354066113512702

If you questions or suggestions for future reading group themes, do get in touch with the RELATE activity coordinators Sharon Lecocq (sharon.lecocq@kuleuven.be) and Heidi Maurer (heidrun.maurer@donau-uni.ac.at).

RELATE’s conference presence

RELATE has organised panels on relational social theories at a number of conferences, increasing the visibility of our network and supporting our members in the dissemination of their work:

  • 2022 ECPR Standing Group on the European Union (Panel: When the sum is more than its parts? Alternative approaches for understanding the nature of the CFSP, Section: The EU as a Global Actor);
  • 2022 ECPR General Conference (Panel: Network Analysis in European Studies and International Relations, Section: Political Networks);
  • UACES 2022 Conference (Panel 601: European Studies in a Relational Universe: A RELATE Panel).

We will also have a panel at ISA2023 (Montréal), titled ‘SB63: Diplomacy in Times of crisis or diplomacy in crisis? A relational practice theory approach’ (you can find us on the conference program).

NOTE: RELATE can able to offer financial support to Early Career Scholars (particularly PhD candidates) submitting papers to our panels.

And coming soon…

Methods Workshop

In January 2023 we will host a two-day online methods workshop, held by colleagues with in-depth methodological expertise. The event will also include a “methods support café”, where network members would get 20-30 minute-long feedback sessions on the research design/methods of papers they are working on. Stay tuned for updates (and, if you have any ideas/suggestions for the methods workshop, feel free to get in touch with us)!