Call for Abstracts: Reframing the Arctic: Cooperation, Not Conflict Workshop

Apr 28, 2015 | Institute for Environmental Diplomacy and Security
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Too much of the popular narrative, in particular media framing, of polar politics is driven by the notion of inevitable conflict. The “Arctic cold war” trend piece continues to characterize coverage across popular media, reinforced by the regular publication of books that support such an interpretation. If the policymaking community and general public is only exposed to alarming and dramatic stories about polar conflict, public and policy discourse may be distorted. Scholars and policymakers who work in polar regions have a duty to analyze and discuss conflict-driven framing, and to push back against this typology when appropriate. This conference will aim to make meaningful progress in considering the consequences of conflict framing, as well as addressing how skilful framing and creative diplomacy may promote cooperation over conflict.

The two-day conference will address current areas where conflict is frequently presumed to exist in the polar regions: energy, sovereignty, securitization, and human rights, and will dissect the reality of policy development in each area versus perceived or media-driven frames. The structure will be built around workshops, and each contributor will be asked to share work that addresses cooperation at the poles. The goal of the symposium will be to produce a special volume of papers with a common theme of combating the notion of inevitable polar conflict, and therefore the number of participants will be limited. Whether working at tribal, national, or international levels, all participants will be asked a framing question on conflict and cooperation around which their work should cohere.

One of the goals of the workshop will be to assemble a linked set of papers on this topic that can comprise a journal edition; therefore, we request that participants share their 100-word abstracts by May 15 and bring preliminary outlines or drafts that can inform each other’s papers and benefit from workshop discussion. Please forward abstracts of the papers to the following 3 email addresses of the organizers: saleem.ali@uvm.edu; rebeccapincus@gmail.com; Asim.Zia@uvm.edu

With funding from the Army Research Office and in partnership with the University of Queensland, Australia we anticipate the ability to cover some travel/accommodation costs for workshop participants. Members of the public will be welcome to attend workshop events.

The workshop builds on work undertaken in the volume Diplomacy on Ice: Energy and the Environment in the Arctic and the Antarctic (Yale University Press, 2015) which was partially supported by the The Sustainable Minerals Institute, University of Queensland and the Brian Bronfman Foundation.

July 6-7, 2015 -  (100 word Abstracts due by May 15, 2015)

Burlington, VT, USA

University of Vermont