CRRC calls for proposals for the 7th Annual CRRC Conference "Taking Stock of Change: The South Caucasus After a Turbulent Year" that will take place on June 25-26, 2021.
Date: June 25-26, 2021
Concept note:
The South Caucasus experienced a tumultuous 2020. The global COVID-19 pandemic and renewed hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh have reshaped the region.
As the South Caucasus countries struggle to cope with the consequences of the pandemic, questions arise whether institutional responses to challenges are sufficient, and the limits on various freedoms that were introduced to curb the spread of the virus are being manipulated for politics.
The 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War has fundamentally altered the political geographies of the South Caucasus. As the West and international organizations were largely absent during the conflict, the traditional regional powers, Russia and Turkey, emerged as powerbrokers. While the war is often discussed through the lens of greater geopolitical realignments, researchers need to address what it means to individuals and communities who are often omitted from such analyses.
Informed by these themes, the Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRCs) seeks proposals for the 7th Annual CRRC Conference and welcomes methodologically driven, substantive contributions. We invite panel and paper proposals investigating the profound sociopolitical, cultural, and economic changes occurring in the South Caucasus through a comparative, empirical lens. We welcome quality scholarly contributions from emerging and established academics exploring the following broader topics:
- Conflicts, displacement, and reconciliation;
- Politics, power, and democracy;
- Culture, values, and identity;
- Economic development, digitalization, energy, and mobility;
- Urban development and environmental issues;
- Civil society and activism.
As CRRC is committed to promoting innovative research methods, we are seeking proposals for methods focused panels and workshops. We invite authors who explore methodological innovations and address challenges to data collection, analysis, visualization, and dissemination, with a particular focus on methods relevant to research during the COVID-19 pandemic to submit proposals for panels and workshops.
We welcome contributions using original data, but authors who plan to present scholarly work based on the Caucasus Barometer, CRRC’s bi-annual household survey, are especially encouraged to apply.
Conference structure
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictions, all scheduled events will take place virtually. Panel presentations, roundtables, and keynote speeches will be broadcast via CRRC offices’ Facebook and Youtube pages.
The first day of the 7th CRRC Conference will be dedicated to sessions exploring the conference’s substantive topics outlined above. On the second day, participants are invited to contribute to methodological seminars where contributors will present their work’s methodological aspects. The working language of the conference is English.
How to apply?
Initial proposals, including an extended abstract (max. 500 words) and a CV, can be submitted via this form by April 16, 2021. CRRC offices will notify successful participants via email. Final notification of acceptance will be issued in mid-May. If you would like to propose a panel, please email a title and an abstract of the suggested panel to applications@crrccenters.org and david@crrccenters.org.
Important dates:
- Submission of initial proposals (an extended abstract and a CV) – April 16, 2021. The deadline was extended to April 30, 2021.
- Confirmation of final acceptance – May 14, 2021
About CRRC
The Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC) is a network of research and research support centers in the capital cities of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. CRRC’s goal is to strengthen social science research and public policy analysis in the South Caucasus. Over the past seventeen years, the CRRC offices have become a nexus of activity for the social science community in the South Caucasus by providing open access to data, scholarly literature, and professional training for social science researchers. For more information about CRRC and the upcoming conference, please visit the respective country websites at crrc.am, crrc.az and crrc.ge.
About Caucasus Barometer
The Caucasus Barometer is a bi-annual nationwide household survey conducted by the CRRC offices in the South Caucasus. Since 2004, CRRC has interviewed around 48,000 residents of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia on socio-economic issues, values, beliefs, and political attitudes. Since 2015, Caucasus Barometer has been administered in Armenia and Georgia only. To find more about the survey and access the dataset, please visit caucasusbarometer.org