Structures and Futures of Europe

17th Annual Conference of the Hungarian Political Science Association (Budapest)

20-21 May, 2011

CONFERENCE PROGRAMME (updated on 17 May, 2011)

European political structures are facing new challenges. The Lisbon Treaty, after so many setbacks, has come into force in a period when the economic crisis has threatened the EU’s most widely known project, the Eurozone. The effective coordination of national economic policies appears to be more necessary than ever, but it is unclear what new forms of cooperation will emerge among governments, community institutions and markets. Enlargement continues to pose a challenge, while the integration of the new members is, in many respects, still rather a hope than a reality. The EU provides economic and political stability in its close neighborhood, but failure to increase its competitiveness raises questions about its global relevance. The political and academic debates concerning the “democratic deficit” focus the attention on the issue of legitimacy in a multilevel political system, without, however, producing a coherent set of institutional reforms.

Given this context and the Hungarian presidency of the Council of the European Union, the Hungarian PSA’s Annual Meeting this year focuses on European integration, broadly conceived.

Plenary lectures:

Keynote speakers:

Andrew Moravcsik (Princeton University)

Are Criticisms of Europe’s “Democratic Deficit” Consistent with Basic Political Science?

Philippe C. Schmitter (European University Institute)

The Future of Democracy in Europe and in the European Union

Roundtable sponsored by the CEU Center for European Union Research on political parties in the European Union:

Robert Ladrech (Keele University/College of Europe)

Kenneth Benoit (London School of Economics)

Gabor Toka (Central European University)

Closing lecture:

Laszlo Csaba (Central European University)

The political economy of the crisis of the Eurozone 

Venue: The Károlyi-Csekonics Palace and Central European University

Registration for participants who do not present: hpsaconf@ceu.hu (please write into the subject field "registration")

Address inquires to hpsaconf@ceu.hu