Many of our EDP Network members had the chance to attend this year’s 59th International Studies Association’s (ISA) Annual Convention in San Francisco from April 4-7 themed “Power of Rules and Rule of Power”. On Thursday, April 5, our panel “Negotiating International Democracy Promotion” – organized and chaired by our network members Julia (German Development Institute) and Vera (Leuphana University Lüneburg) – took place, and we had the opportunity to present and discuss five papers that are part of our special issue project. Andrea Ribeiro Hoffmann of the Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro kindly served as discussant.
The following papers were presented and discussed:
- Prakash Bhattarai (Centre for Social Change Nepal) presented his paper on “Negotiation in Nepal’s Constitution-Making Process: The Role of International Actors and Its Impact”,
- Jeff Bridoux (Aberystwyth University) talked about “Negotiating Democratic Knowledge as a Pathway to Inclusivity”,
- Jalale Getachew Birru (University of Erfurt, Willy Brandt School of Public Policy) and Jonas Wolff (Peace Research Institute Frankfurt) presented their paper on “Negotiating International Civil Society Support: The Case of Ethiopia’s 2009 Charities and Societies Proclamation”,
- Vera van Hüllen (Leuphana University of Lüneburg) talked about “The EU and Regime Dynamics in North Africa”, and
- Jan Pospisil (Austrian Study Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution) presented his and Monalisa Adhikari’s (University of Edinburgh) paper on “The Challenge of ‘Twin Transitions’: Negotiating Democracy Promotion in Peace Processes”.
After our panel, we had the opportunity to continue our conversation during an EDP network-sponsored lunch in downtown San Francisco. We would like to thank all contributors and participants to the panel for their input and a great discussion!