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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:14.0pt">18th Pan-European Conference on International Relations, University of Bologna, 25-29 August 2025<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:14.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US">S12 - Geopolitics and Economic Statecraft: Elite Strategies in a Fragmenting World Order<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>Section Chairs: Bastiaan van Apeldoorn & Nana de Graaff, with Imogen Liu and Jasa Veselinovic (all Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)<o:p></o:p></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">The emergence of China as a potential rival to the United States in the global political economy has intensified geopolitical rivalry over leadership in strategic technologies, production, finance, infrastructure and
(global) governance. The European Union and an expansionist BRICS among other region formations are trying to position themselves in the midst of these escalating great power tensions.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">This is all set against the backdrop of a protracted war in Ukraine, the reignited conflicts in the Middle East, a looming escalation over Taiwan (as the worlds epicentre of chips production), the rise of right-wing populism
and domestic polarization in the West and a global climate crisis. In this volatile environment, the future direction of globalization and world politics remains unclear and heavily debated. Will we see a fragmented world order emerge, or are we moving towards
a decoupled two-sphere East-West world with the spectre of a new Cold War? What are the pathways, whether toward renewed collaboration or conflict, within a multi-polar world order?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">This Section will organize five panels to investigate the geopolitical driving forces behind these deepening rifts, the resurgence of economic statecraft, and geoeconomic competition reshaping the highly integrated yet
unevenly structured capitalist world economy. In particular, this section is interested in perspectives and analyses that highlight the role of political and economic elites i.e. those in positions of power and decision making power in global politics, how
they navigate these uncertainties and shape the direction of world order and global politics.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">We invite paper proposals speaking to the above and below preliminary panel themes:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<ul style="margin-top:0cm" type="disc">
<ul style="margin-top:0cm" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:106%;mso-list:l0 level2 lfo1">
<span lang="EN-US">Economic statecraft and industrial policy in trade, technology, production and finance;<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:106%;mso-list:l0 level2 lfo1">
<span lang="EN-US">Derisking, decoupling and recoupling: trajectories of deglobalization and reglobalisation;<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:106%;mso-list:l0 level2 lfo1">
<span lang="EN-US">Foreign policy and elite agency in a fragmenting world order;<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:106%;mso-list:l0 level2 lfo1">
<span lang="EN-US">Geopolitics and geoeconomics of the green transition;<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:106%;mso-list:l0 level2 lfo1">
Changing elite coalitions and geographies<o:p></o:p></li></ul>
</ul>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u><span lang="EN-US"><o:p><span style="text-decoration:none"> </span></o:p></span></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u><span lang="EN-US">Submit your 1800-characters abstracts </span>
</u><a href="https://eisa-net.org/abstract-submission-guidelines-pec25/"><b><span lang="EN-US">HERE</span></b></a><b><u><span lang="EN-US"> by March 20.</span></u></b><u><span lang="EN-US"> Make sure to submit to section “</span></u><b><span lang="EN-US">S12
- Geopolitics and Economic Statecraft: Elite Strategies in a Fragmenting World Order<u>”<o:p></o:p></u></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Contact for questions: </span><a href="mailto:e.b.van.apeldoorn@vu.nl"><span lang="EN-US">e.b.van.apeldoorn@vu.nl</span></a><span lang="EN-US"> or
</span><a href="mailto:n.a.de.graaff@vu.nl"><span lang="EN-US">n.a.de.graaff@vu.nl</span></a>
<span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Conference Website: </span><a href="https://eisa-net.org/pec-2025/"><span lang="EN-US">https://eisa-net.org/pec-2025/</span></a><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none;mso-fareast-language:NL">Prof. Dr. Nana de Graaff</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none;mso-fareast-language:NL">
| </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none;mso-fareast-language:NL">Professor in Global Politics and Networks,
<b>VU Amsterdam</b> </span><span style="color:black"><a href="https://research.vu.nl/en/persons/na-de-graaff"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:purple;mso-ligatures:none;mso-fareast-language:NL">https://research.vu.nl/en/persons/na-de-graaff</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none;mso-fareast-language:NL">
| </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none;mso-fareast-language:NL">Principal Investigator
<b>ReGlobe</b>: <a href="https://www.re-globe.eu/about">https://www.re-globe.eu/about</a>
</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none;mso-fareast-language:NL">|
</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none;mso-fareast-language:NL">Chair <b>China in Europe Research Network (CHERN</b>): </span><span style="color:black"><a href="https://china-in-europe.net/"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:purple;mso-ligatures:none;mso-fareast-language:NL">https://china-in-europe.net</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none;mso-fareast-language:NL"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:5.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none;mso-fareast-language:NL"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none;mso-fareast-language:NL"><img border="0" width="175" height="33" style="width:1.8229in;height:.3437in" id="Afbeelding_x0020_1" src="cid:image001.png@01DB7409.36D83BB0" alt="signature_666725940"></span><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none;mso-fareast-language:NL"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none;mso-fareast-language:NL"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none;mso-fareast-language:NL"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none;mso-fareast-language:NL">Selected publications<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:5.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none;mso-fareast-language:NL"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0cm;background:white;mso-ligatures:none;mso-fareast-language:NL">Van Apeldoorn, Veselinovic,
and de Graaff (2023). </span><span style="color:black"><a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-34692-7" title="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-34692-7"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#0563C1;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0cm;background:white;mso-ligatures:none;mso-fareast-language:NL">Trump
and the Remaking of American Grand Strategy: The Shift from Open Door Globalism to Economic Nationalism. </span></i></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#242424;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0cm;background:white;mso-ligatures:none;mso-fareast-language:NL">Palgrave. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;background:white;mso-ligatures:none;mso-fareast-language:NL"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none;mso-fareast-language:NL"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none;mso-fareast-language:NL">De Graaff & Valeeva (2021) Emerging Sino-European Corporate Elite Networks, Development
and Change (52(5): 1147-1173 (open access): <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span style="color:black"><a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/dech.12682"><span style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#0563C1;mso-ligatures:none;mso-fareast-language:NL">https://doi.org/10.1111/dech.12682</span></a></span><span style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none;mso-fareast-language:NL">
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none;mso-fareast-language:NL">Henderson & De Graaff eds.
</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none;mso-fareast-language:NL">(2021) Special Issue: The Wind From the East: China and the Economic Future of Europe. Development and
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none;mso-fareast-language:NL">Change, 52(5): 1045-1273:
</span><span style="color:black"><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/14677660/2021/52/5"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#0563C1;mso-ligatures:none;mso-fareast-language:NL">https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/14677660/2021/52/5</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none;mso-fareast-language:NL"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none;mso-fareast-language:NL">De Graaff et al. (2020) Forum: China’s rise in a liberal world order in transition.<i> Review
of International Political Economy</i>, 27(2): 191-301, </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-ligatures:none;mso-fareast-language:NL"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span style="color:black"><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rrip20/27/2"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#0563C1;mso-ligatures:none;mso-fareast-language:NL">https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rrip20/27/2</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none;mso-fareast-language:NL"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:none;mso-fareast-language:NL"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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