Call for Papers: Journal of Regional Security, Special issue on “Western Balkans in the Age of Anxiety”

Ours is the age of anxiety. Authoritarian powers such as Russia and China, populists in established democracies, rightist transnational movements, conservative NGOs, and religious fundamentalist groups all rail against what they see as the overly elitist, cosmopolitan, progressive, and exploitative foundations of the global liberal order. Whether we are only witnessing the crisis of the liberal order or the beginning of its demise is, at this stage, unknown. This raises fundamental questions about the state and the future of the Western Balkans, a region which came into existence as a belated brainchild of the post-cold war Euro-Atlantic security community. The purpose of this special issue is thus to examine how anxiety-inducing unknowns of the current global transformations affect the Western Balkans or more specifically:

How useful is the concept of anxiety in understanding regional politics in the Western Balkans?

How socio-psychological factors explain the ongoing bilateral and multilateral processes in the region?

How is the politics in the Western Balkans affected by the collective anxiety in the West?

What place is there for pro-Western and pro-liberal narratives in the Western Balkans?

Does the crisis of the liberal international order hold dangers for the peace infrastructure in the region?

Abstracts (up to 500 words) should be submitted to jrs@fpn.bg.ac.rs no later than 1 July 2019. On the basis of the received abstracts, the editors will select 5-7 submissions and their authors will be asked to send full-length manuscripts by 1 October 2019. Should you have any questions regarding the special issue please get in touch with Jelena Cupać (jelena.cupac@wzb.eu).