Organizer: NELSON MANDELA CHAIR FOR AFRO-ASIAN STUDIES School of International Relations and Politics (SIRP) Mahatma Gandhi University Kottayam, Kerala, India Pin-686560, Mob:8714770906 nmc@mgu.ac.in In Collaboration With Department of Diplomacy and International Studies University of Nairobi, Kenya
About the Conference (Hybrid Mode)
- When: March 22, 2024 (Offline) to March 23, 2024
- Call For Papers
Nelson Mandela Chair can only cover expenses for accommodation and food on the university campus for Out of station Presenters.
Refreshments and lunch will be provided on conference days. Conference kit will be provided for registered participants.
ABOUT THE CONFERENCE
We live in turbulent global order and the world yearns for peace and an end to the multiple forms of violence. This conference is scheduled at a time when wars are raging in Palestine and Ukraine, along with numerous other conflicts that are disrupting the lives of millions of people and inflicting untold misery. The primary objective of this conference is to identify challenges to peace and how to address these, especially for those engulfed in crises. One particular perspective will be to identify how the global capitalist and neoliberal system avoids addressing the conditions of oppressed populations in the so-called rules-based international order. We believe the global order and system requires a significant overhaul and a reshaping of priorities, and that academic studies can provide inclusive and just peacebuilding perspectives and alternatives.
Post-colonial and subaltern sociological studies have substantially changed public and academic discourses and views. The role of post-colonial theory in promoting peace, proposing ways to resolve conflicts, and facilitating reconciliation in the Global South involves questioning international institutional agendas, and offers a critique of their impact on democratic nation-states. In addition, the rise of populism represents a challenge to human rights, especially the far-right variety that encourages xenophobia, and focuses on migration trends to impose new regimes of control and exclusion.
We hope to examine the contemporary international order, war, gender-based oppression, new forms of colonialism, modes of theorizing settler colonialism and global citizenship. We also wish to develop studies on feminist subaltern and indigenous movements, which question the official state processes and narratives.
The Department of International Studies at the University of Nairobi, Kenya, will serve as the Principal Collaborator in this conference, alongside the Department of Social and Political Thought at York University in Toronto, Canada, and the Hong Kong Baptist University.
The conference is sponsored by a chair named after the late President Nelson Mandela and has adopted some of the most significant ideas of this great humanist and human rights defender: namely, the twin concepts of peace and reconciliation, which form the organisational theme of this conference. We earnestly request the academic community’s participation in the event’s success.
The Conference invites papers on the following themes
- The role of decolonial theory for peace, conflict, and reconciliation in the Global South – examples from Africa, Latin America, and Asia.
- Economic development models – interrogate international financial institutions, agendas, and impacts on democratic nation-states.
- Populist concerns for Human Rights – the far right, increasing xenophobia and global migration trends intersecting in a matrix of neocolonialism.
- Anti-colonial critique of the contemporary international order submissions from various disciplines and interdisciplinary research.
- Theorizing settler colonialism and global citizenship in the context of war – how immigrants in the Global North are affected by conflict in their areas of origin and the nuances of moral authority in critiquing Western and Eastern regimes.
- Gender, colonialism, and feminist anti-national movements the body as a site of neocolonial struggle and relations to institutions.
- Development and modernity in India: decolonial perspectives.
Guidelines
- Abstract: MS Word format, at most 300 words, including purpose, methodology, objective, and keywords. (passport-size photograph and complete contact details of contributors are required. A short bio integrating research interests is also required)
- Full Paper Length: 4500-5000 words, in MS Word format, Font Size 12, Times New Roman, 1.5 spacing, APA format.
- Selected papers will be published in an edited book by a reputable academic publisher.
Submit the abstract and full research paper to: nmc@mgu.ac.in
- Abstract Submission Deadline; February 15, 2024
- Notification of Acceptance: February 20, 2024
- Full Paper Submission Deadline: March 18, 2024
- Conference Dates: March 22, 2024 (Offline) to March 23, 2024 (Online)
Registration Fee
- Indian Contributors: ₹500.00,
- International Contributors: $25
Account Number: 67309714566
Name: Co-Ordinator, Nelson Mandela Chair for Afro-Asian Studies
Bank: State Bank of India, MG University, Kottayam
IFSC: SBIN0070669
Register Here
Organizing Team
Prof. Bernard Haykel Chair Professor, Nelson Mandela Chair for Afro-Asian Studies, MGU & Professor, Near Eastern studies Princeton University, USA
Dr Bijulal M.V Chair-Coordinator, Nelson Mandela Chair, for Afro-Asian Studies, MGU
Dr Patrick Muthengi Maluki Director, Institute of Diplomacy and International Studies University of Nairobi, Kenya
Dr Caroline M. Schopf Hong Kong Baptist University Hong Kong
Munjeera Jefford. PhD Scholar, Social and Political Thought Department York University Toronto, Canada
Dr Patrick Muthengi Maluki Director, Institute of Diplomacy and International Studies University of Nairobi, Kenya.
Programme Committee
Navas M Khadar, Conference General Convenor, Nelson Mandela Chair for Afro-Asian Studies, MGU +918714770906
Logistics Committee
Renjith K R (Convenor)
Jijina T.V
Surya K S
Anjusha A
Haripriya
Venue Committee
Vinny Davis (Convenor)
Ananda Krishna K
David John
Anandhu Sunil
Devi Chandana M
Abdul Khadar
Session Coordination
Adarsh Ciril (Convenor)
Alex J.K
David N John
Amith Bineesh
Kevin Biju
Vijay Krishnan
Media Committee
Jerry Mathew Abraham (Convenor)
Sreya S
Aravind R
Nadia K Joseph
Aparna P.V
Academic Committee
Prof. A.M Thomas (Convenor)
Prof.C Vinodan
Dr. Lirar Pulikalakath
Dr. Mathew A Varghese
Dr Aparna Eswaran
Dr Jojin V John
Dr Jabir T,K
Dr Amal Pullarkkat
Athira K.V
About the Organizers
The Nelson Mandela Chair for Afro-Asian Studies
The Nelson Mandela Chair for Afro-Asian Studies is envisioned as an academic institution that promotes research, education, and dialogue on the historical, cultural, and socio-political connections between Africa and Asia. Emphasising the principles of peace, justice, and reconciliation championed by Nelson Mandela. The Chair fosters understanding, collaboration, and advancing peaceful coexistence between these two regions. The Nelson Mandela Chair for Afro-Asian Studies envisions a world where the historical, cultural, and socio-political connections between Africa and Asia are deeply understood, celebrated, and leveraged to foster peace, reconciliation, and sustainable development. Inspired by the legacy of Nelson Mandela, our vision is to be a global academic chair that promotes interdisciplinary research, education, dialogue, and fostering mutual understanding, collaboration, and social justice within and between the two regions while also promoting peacebuilding in the world.
Department of Diplomacy and International Studies (DDIS)
The Department of Diplomacy and International Studies (DDIS) is a bi-lingual, multidisciplinary, and international teaching, research, and training institute based at the University of Nairobi. Its core mandates include undergraduate and postgraduate teaching and training. It also engages in research, publications, and conference organisation. It attracts students not only from Kenya, but the also African region and the world; it has global reach in its partnership collaborations. DDIS has thus become a leading regional and international centre of excellence in diplomacy and international studies training and research. DDIS’s journey started back in 1973, as a Diplomacy Training Program (DTP), charged with the all-important and strategic role of training future diplomats for the entire African region. Over the years the Department has attained a leadership position in the training of diplomats and conflict managers who perform negotiations, mediation, and other diplomatic functions in different parts of the world. Today (2024), the Department Awards Doctorate Degrees in International Studies, master’s degree in: International Studies, and Diplomacy. It also offers a Bachelor of Arts Degree in International Studies, Postgraduate Diploma and Ordinary Diploma programs in International Studies. It has also set up Latin America and Southeast Asia regional study areas.