Call for papers by young researchers: CIDOB International Yearbook 2023

The CIDOB International Yearbook is an annual volume devoted to the analysis and study of international relations and politics. Published continuously since 1990, over its 32 editions the Yearbook has become a standard volume for experts and academics studying international affairs and a key Spanish-language tool for analysing international dynamics, drivers of change and future challenges in international politics, security and economics. 

With the aim of giving young researchers a voice, CIDOB is launching its 4^th Call for Papers on the Analysis of International Relations, which is addressed to students, experts and analysts under the age of 30 in order to encourage a renewed vision of today’s international challenges. 

Subjects 

The articles presented should fit into one of the following thematic categories: 

Planetary boundaries 

More than ever, the threat of climate change raises questions about the limits we must impose on ourselves as a society if we are to survive on a planet with limited resources. The equation is made up of various factors, such as demography, the effectiveness of global governance, the technological innovation or the rivalry and cooperation trends between powers determined by the attitudes and decisions of international actors, with states and metropolises granted prominent roles. All of this will have a direct impact on poverty, migration, international protection and the emergence of new pandemics, increasing inequality between and within societies. It will also raise the pressure on scarce resources, such as fossil fuels, rare earths and in some cases water. What are the impacts of this new scenario on international relations? Might the same states compete in some areas, while cooperating in others to mitigate climate change and its effects? Which of these limits are a priority and for what reason? How can we rethink our way of living so that we do not cross the red lines of human life on earth? 

Democracy in crisis and global discontent 

Democracy is in difficult times. After a decade and a half of decline, expressions of popular discontent are becoming more frequent and widespread due to the general increase in inequalities, poor public management and political corruption. Added to the impact of social networks and deliberate misinformation, these have contributed to social polarisation and rising populism and authoritarianism on a global scale. In parallel, a wave of citizen protests placed on hold during the pandemic are expected to make a strong return in many countries where inequalities, political polarisation and precariousness have increased. From Chile to Peru, Hong Kong to Thailand, France to the US, and Lebanon to Chad, violent confrontations have surged between protesters and security forces, which have very diverse causes, but indicate an underlying malaise, and not just in democratic regimes. In general, elections have punished incumbents (including populists), which leads us to ask: Is the crisis we face limited to democracies? What impacts are misinformation and fake news having on the way citizens perceive reality? Are we seeing the end of peaceful protests or, on the contrary, will they continue to be the main driver for achieving political change? What role do authoritarian regimes play as alternative models to liberal democracy? How can we reinvigorate democracy to preserve the “least bad” system of government? 

Imagining the future: a present imperative 

Human societies are undergoing changes of unprecedented speed and complexity. Hence the need for exercises imagining the future. Innovation and creativity are drivers of change that require imagination to conceive of how we live, how we relate to each other and how we build our social, political and economic structures. Rather than forecasting, imagining the future means proposing a possible horizon towards which we can move, allowing us to deploy the necessary means to achieve it. Alternatively, it means sketching out undesirable scenarios in order to avoid them, like a climate change catastrophe, a nuclear confrontation or autonomous artificial intelligence taking control. The future of energy, global governance and climate change mitigation, cities, migration and demography can benefit from action-oriented strategic thinking, in which innovation and imagination can offer us new narratives about the future. The aim of this chapter is to identify reasons for optimism and resources for action, rather than resigning ourselves to dystopian nihilism. How can we imagine the governance of the future? And based on which actors? What role will nation-states, non-governmental actors and large metropolises play? How can we better manage the interaction between physical and virtual reality in the future international order? And what about the interaction between humans and biophysical systems? What responsibility do legislators and politicians have for uses and abuses of the instruments they create; and what about programmers, engineers and designers? 

Requirements of the submitted texts 

• Texts should be focused on the above subjects of research, they should be short, clearly explained and analytically rigorous.
• Since the call is explicitly aimed at young researchers, the authors must be a maximum of 30 years of age on April 10^th, 2023.
• Papers should be 1,300 words in length in English, and 1,700 in Spanish/Catalan. 
• Papers must be original and unpublished.
• The originals may be submitted in English, Spanish or Catalan.
• Works must include an abstract at the beginning (100 words) and a brief biographical note about the author (including date of birth). 
• The piece should not include footnotes or bibliographical references. Where necessary, these should be mentioned within the text itself. 

Timetable 

• April 10th, 2023: Deadline for texts to be received.
• May 10th, 2023: Authors are notified of the results of the selection process. 

Submission 

• Papers should be sent by email to: anuariointernacional@cidob.org.
• The email’s subject field should include the phrase “Call for papers for young researchers: CIDOB International Yearbook 2023”.
• Each author may submit a maximum of two articles to this call. 

Selection process 

• The editorial board of the CIDOB International Yearbook will be responsible for selecting the three winning papers. The board reserves the right to declare the contest void following the evaluation process of the texts received.
• All authors will receive confirmation of the receipt of their paper and notification of the result of the selection process. 

Publication 

• The final winning papers to be included in the CIDOB International Yearbook will be subjected to correction and editing processes to be carried out by CIDOB's editorial team.
• The papers selected (up to a maximum of three) will be published in the Yearbook’s print and digital editions. They will be publicised and distributed via CIDOB’s website and social networks.
• In case of consider a text as accessit (second prize), it will not receive remuneration and will be published only in digital format. 

Remuneration 

• Authors of the texts selected for publication will receive payment of €250 gross for the use of the work. 

Additional information 

• Winning texts from the three previous editions are available on the Yearbook website: Convocatoria autores/as menores de 30 años. 
• Any doubt or clarification may be submitted to the organisers through the same contact e-mail: anuariointernacional@cidob.org.