Call for Papers
3rd European Workshops in International Studies (EWIS) Tübingen, Germany, 6-8 April 2016
(WS R) Living the "new normal": Post-crisis politics of money, debt and time
Workshop conveners: Joscha Wullweber, Benjamin Wilhelm, Nina Boy & Timo Walter
More than five years after the global financial crisis, the European Union finds itself in the conundrum of a 'post-crisis' state that is defined by ongoing crisis dynamics. This is evident, among other things, in the changing perception of sovereign risk, the clash between the power of finance and democratic legitimacy, growing social tensions due to economic inequality as well as the sluggish pace of progress toward economic recovery. While some of these processes are unfolding centre stage (possible exits from the EU are prominent examples) others tend to remain hidden from view within the framework of recent fiscal and institutional reformation of the EU. By virtue of measures undertaken in response to the crisis, including the new banking supervisory role assigned to the
European Central Bank, enhanced capital requirements, and the supranational coordination of public finances, a new kind of public sphere is being created outside the purview of normal public debate. Rather than restoring pre-crisis normality, these measures are themselves bringing about a new normality with profound social, political and economic implications. The objective of this workshop is to shed light on the reality that is becoming the new normal both in the European Union and beyond by examining the politics of three central aspects: money, debt and
time.
The politics of money concerns the new role of the common currency in the eurozone and the euro as an impaired symbol for the imaginary of a unified Europe. Current policy directions in this respect imply a new social, political and cultural context in an era of ‘unconventional’ monetary policy, excess liquidity and lopsided distribution. The nature of debt, and, in particular, the nature of sovereign debt, is undergoing a profound shift. Debt is no longer regarded as ‘safe’ and has come to require increasing levels of collateral and far reaching guarantees. This new
condition of debt creates and enforces disciplinary mechanisms in order to align policies and scenarios across societal and political borders. Both money and debt crucially involve the notion of time. The moment when debt
turns into the obligation to pay is politically highly contested and implies a particular formatting of possible futures in the present. The notion of time arranges the difference between a good loan as (future) profit and debt as a sovereign burden via the settling of political hierarchies.
The workshop will explore the interrelation of money, debt and time in the new normal by considering the following questions: How do these aspects specifically produce or foreclose future opportunities? How do they transcend disciplinary perspectives? And how do they intervene in the discourses of everyday life? Accordingly, contributions will address one or more of the following topics:
* Interdisciplinary perspectives on present configurations of money, debt and time
* New normalities of crisis, volatility, and reform in the European Union
* The old normal vs the new normal of (sovereign) debt
* New (financial) practices of constructing safety
* Political sovereignty, financial debt, and the modern exercise of power
* New epistemologies of risk and resilience
* Debt, freedom and financial security in the new normal
* Politics of failure, success and evidence in the new normal
* The monetary and fiscal governance of 'future presents' and 'present futures'
* Money, debt and the bonds of the European body politic
* Crisis and the politics of affect in everyday life
* Ethics and moralities of the new normal
*Deadline for Submission is the 2nd of October 2015*.
An abstract of about 250 words can be uploaded after registration via following this link: https://www.conftool.pro/ewis2016/
If you have any further questions concerning this workshop please write to
Benjamin Wilhelm (benjamin.wilhelm@uni-erfurt.de) or
Joscha Wullweber (joscha.wullweber@uni-kassel.de).
Information regarding EWIS can be found here:
http://www.eisa-net.org/sitecore/content/be-bruga/eisa/events/ewis.aspx.