News
Upcoming Workshop on the Future of OACPS-EU Relations:
Tuesday 5th December 13.30-16.30 (UK Time):
Hybrid format: Kings College London and online via TEAMS
With the (partial) signing of the new Samoa Agreement between the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) and the European Union on the 15th November 2023, this NEAR workshop provides a timely opportunity to reflect on the process and outcome of the ‘Post-Cotonou’ Agreement and the future or OACPS-EU relations. The workshop will be in hybrid format (at Kings College London and via TEAMs). See events page for more details
Book Launch: 28th Sept 2023
We are delighted to announce the launch of 'World Apart: Perspectives on Africa-EU Migration' edited by Dr Adeoye O.Akinola (IPATC, University of Johannesburg) and Prof. Jespar Bjarnesen ( Nordic Africa Institute, Uppsala). The book explores diverse perspectives on African and European migration actors and proposes a more just and sustainable migration governance agenda. The launch of the book will at the Ubuntu Chambers, UNiversity of Johannesburg, on Thursday 28th Sept 15.00-18.00
NEAR Panel at the UACES 52nd Annual Conference
Near convened a panel on Diplomacy and (de) coloniality in Africa-EU ties. The panel included papers by Dr Mark Langan, Kings College London, on 'An Unhealthy Relationship? Africa -EU Relations and EU Public Diplomacy in the COVID-19 Pandemic', Jens Herpolshimer, University of Leipzig, on 'The '"Flesh and Blood" of Africa-EU Inter-Regionalism : Unpacking Complex Collective Actors and Everyday Practices, and Sophia Price (Leeds Beckett University) and Mark Langan (Kings College London) on 'Pan-Africanism and Neo-Colonial Desire in Europe: A Critique of the EU's Response to the African Continental Free Trade Area
NEAR Panels at the UACES 51st Annual Conference
NEAR convened two linked panels at this years UACES Annual Conference. On Tuesday 7th September Jan Orbie chaired our first panel on Regional and Institutional Diplomacies in Africa-EU Relations , with contributions from Antonio Raimundo on The Post -Cotonou Process and EU-Africa Interregionalism; Jens Herpolsheimer on Triangular Inter-Regionalism Between ECOWAS, the African Union and the European Union in Practice; and Mark Langan and Sophia Price on West Africa and Irreconcilable EU Trade and Migration Policies? EPAs as a Push Factor for Migration. On Wednesday 8th September Sophia Price chaired our second panel on Contested EU Approaches to Development in the Global South, with contributions from Anissa Bougrea, Jan Orbie and Mattias Vermeiren on Reforming the European Financial Architecture for Development: Does Wall Street Consensus Rule in Brussels?; Mark Furness and Julian Bergman on Contestation over EU Foreign and Development Policy Towards Fragile States: Conflicting Norms, Actors and Practices; and Mark Langan on Public Diplomacy and the COVID -19 Pandemic in Africa-EU Relations : Health Security and Reputational Risk.
Online workshop 19th May 2022 at 2pm (uk time)
In this Zoom workshop Mark Langan will be presenting his new paper “ An Unhealthy Relationship? The Reputational Risks of Europe’s Health Focused Public Diplomacy in Africa” . See events page for sign in details
Webinar series: Trends of convergence and divergence in EU-Africa relations
Register here: https://www.iee-ulb.eu/en/learning/teaching-projects/jean-monnet-project-relations-between-the-eu-and-africa-arrear/
In order to address the ongoing contemporary and complexity of EU-Africa relations, a short series of webinars will address trends of convergence and divergence in three layers: security cooperation in the Sahel, aid and trade in the post-Cotonou era and interregional coalitions. The objective of these virtual events is to bring together experts that discuss their respective perspectives on how Euro-African relations are evolving in light of the profound changes occurring on both sides.
The initiative is part of the Jean Monnet Project “A reassessment of relations between the EU and African regionalisms (ARREAR)” coordinated at the Institute for European Studies of the Université libre de Bruxelles (IEE-ULB) and co-organised with the UACES Network of EU-Africa Research (NEAR).
More information available here: https://www.iee-ulb.eu/en/learning/teaching-projects/jean-monnet-project-relations-between-the-eu-and-africa-arrear/
British Academy Writing Workshops: Writing and Researching Inequality in Africa
NEAR convenor Dr Sophia Price has been awarded British Academy funding to run a Workshop Series on Writing and Researching the Political Economy of Inequality in Africa. The workshops will be aimed at Early Career Researchers and Post Graduate students and will run between June -December 2021. The series will culminate in a policymaker/practitioner conference in February 2021 - more details here https://www.waria.org/home
2021 Series of Research Workshops Announced
Our programme of research workshops for 2021 begins with Dr Frank Mattheis and Professor Elisa Lopez Lucia discussing their new project ' A reassessment of relations between the EU and African Regionalisms ( ARREAR)' on Friday 26th February. On the 12th March the EADI working group will be discussing 'EU International Development Cooperation Post 2020' and on the 14th April Dr Silke Trommer and Dr Erin Hannah will be discussing their Gender and Trade project. More details on our Events page
New research project within the NEAR network
Starting in September 2020, the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB) will host the project “A reassessment of relations between the EU and African regionalisms (ARREAR)”. For a period of two years, ARREAR will shed light on the increasing complexity in the multiple overlapping and sometimes contradicting interregional layers in the EU-Africa relationship. The project is coordinated by Frank Mattheis and Elisa Lopez Lucia from the ULB’s Institute for European Studies and was selected for funding by the European Commission’s Erasmus+ Jean Monnet programme.
The project is particularly timely, as African regionalism is enjoying a new prominence in European policy-making. The African Union (AU) is capitalising on the increasing visibility and capacity of its institution, driven by the prospect of a continental free trade area and cross-border conflict management. It has since become the first port of call in Africa for the leaders of the European institutions. In this context questions are surfacing regarding the relevance of the existing framework governing relations between the European Union and African regionalisms. On one side, the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific states (ACP) format and the Euro-pegged CFA Franc zone embody a colonial legacy that is trying to adapt to a changing context. On the other side, the interinstitutional partnerships between an enlarged EU and more confident regional organisations such as the AU and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) seek to build new formats with important implications for development aid, political coalitions and security cooperation.
Acknowledging that Africa still occupies a niche in European Studies and that European Studies is still struggling to take root in Africa, the objective pf the project is to bring together academics, policy makers and political observers from both regions to explore the future of EU-Africa relations in light of a changing interregional order. The main activities of ARREAR will be two international workshops, one open conference and a series of policy relevant as well as scientific outputs.
Project Reference Number: 621297-EPP-1-2020-1-BE-EPPJMO-PROJECT