The 2011 Conference of the Consortium for Comparative Research on Regional

Integration and Social Cohesion (RISC)

on the theme of

‘SOCIAL COHESION: THE MISSING LINK IN REGIONAL INTEGRATION?’

Hunters Rest Hotel, Rustenburg, South Africa, 30 November – 3 December 2011

CONFERENCE PROGRAMME
Wednesday 30 November

09h00-13h00                       Scientific Committee Meeting (invite only)/ Koff Prize meeting

13h00-14h00                       LUNCH (Working Group Coordinators meet over lunch)

14h00-17h30                       Academic Council Meeting (invite only)

19h00                                    Official Conference Dinner, welcome and keynote speech (all conference participants)

Thursday 1 December

08h30-10h15                       Keynote Panel I: Factors Influencing Social Cohesion in Different Societies

Chair: Suzanne Graham, University of Johannesburg

Harlan Koff, Political Science, University of Luxembourg and RISC President, “Comparing the ‘A,B,C’s’ of social cohesion across world regions: Association, belonging and change.”

Le Bach Duong & Khuat Thu Hong, Institute for Social Development Studies, Hanoi, “Post Socialist regime and challenges to the social cohesion structure in Vietnam.”

Robert Mattes, Political Science, University of Cape Town, “Sources of national cohesion in Sub-Saharan Africa.”

Vanessa Barolsky, Human Sciences Research Council of South Africa, “Interrogating social cohesion and nation-building in South Africa.”

10h15-10h30                       Coffee break

10h30-12h15                       Keynote Panel II: Levels of Regional Integration

Chair: Yolanda Sadie, University of Johannesburg

Daniel Bach, Comparative Political Science & Sociology, University of Bordeaux, “Regionalism, regionalisation and regional order in Africa: Patterns and paradigms.”

Roberto Duran, Political Science, Catholic University of Chile, “Social and political actors in South American cooperation in the first decade of the 21st century: An exploratory analysis.”

Maxi Schoeman, Political Science, University of Pretoria, “Regionalism and regionalisation in Africa: Imagined and cognitive.” Gerrit Olivier, Political Science, University of Pretoria, “The EU and Africa: Multilateral partnership as an instrument of interregional progress and stability.”

12h15-13h15                       LUNCH

13h15-14h30                       Keynote Panel III: The Interplay of Social Cohesion and Regional Integration

Chair: Deon Geldenhuys, University of Johannesburg

Emmanuel Brunet-Jailly, European Urban and Border Region Policy, University of Victoria, “What are borders, borderlands, boundaries and frontiers? How are these concepts helping us in social science?”

Hugo Fazio Vengoa, Social Sciences, University of the Andes, “América Latina en el siglo XXI: Colisión o resonancia de temporalidades?”

John Akokpari, Political Studies, University of Cape Town, “The crisis of social cohesion in Africa: Is regionalism the answer?” Chris Landsberg, Politics, University of Johannesburg, “Uneven development, state sovereignty and social cohesion: SADC's obstacles to integration.”

14h30-14h45                       Coffee break

14h45-16h30                       Comparative Border and Migration Politics: Inclusion and Exclusion in Border Regions (Working

Group: Comparative Border and Migration Politics) Chair: Emmanuel Brunet-Jailly, University of Victoria

Chikouna Cisse, Université de Cocody, Abidjan, “Crise ivoirienne et reconversion des trajectoires migratoires en Afrique de l’ouest: La diaspora féminine des jula et la construction d’une autonomie économique entre Abidjan, Sikasso et Bamako.”

Bob Deacon and Sonja Nita, UNUCRIS, Bruges, “Regional Integration and Free Movement across borders: The role of social policy in enabling and preventing access to social entitlements by cross-border movers. Europe and Southern Africa compared.” Gloria Naranjo, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellin, “Cohesion social y politicals migratorias: Las categorias de migrnates entre la inclusion and exclusión.”

Adrien Thomas, CEPS/INSTEAD, Luxembourg, “Interest prepresentation of cross border workers and the fabric of social cohesion in border regions.”

Friday 2 December

08h30-10h15                       Citizen Security and Social Cohesion: Complementary or Contradictory? (Working Group: Urban

Conflict, Violence and Citizen Security)

Chair: Juan Carlos Vélez Rendón, University of Antioquia, Medellin

Amaya Querejazu, Facultade Derecho y Ciencias Políticas, Universidad de Antioquia, “Seguridad ciudadana: Un nuevo desafío para la gobernanza regional.”

Robert Compton, Africana Latino Studies and Political Science, State University of New York, College at Oneonta, “Comparative Regional Integration in SADC and ASEAN: Strategies Increasing Citizen Security and Social Cohesion within Countries to Maximize Regional Integration.”

Daniel Sabet, Georgetown University, “The Border Between Citizens and their Police: Ending Vicious Cycles in Mexico.”

10h15-10h30                       Coffee break

10h30-12h15                       Public Health Policy at Real and Imagined Borders: Regional Strategies for Public Health

Integration (Working Group: Civil Society, Vulnerable Populations, and State Policies of Health and Well-being)

Chair: Robert Dover, University of Antioquia, Medellin

Issaga Ndiamé Gueye, Groupe d’Etudes et de Recherches sur les Migrations et Faits de Sociétés (GERM), Université Gaston Berger de Saint-Louis. Sénégal, “Usages et non-usages des Technologies de l’Information et de la Communication (TIC) par les jeunes handicapés physiques et sensoriels dans le contexte des pratiques de vie quotidienne à Saint-Louis: entre logique d’appropriation, d’intégration et d’autonomisation.”

Claudia Puerta Silva and Robert Dover, Universidad de Antioquia, “Dos días de camino y cinco horas en campero para cumplir una cita médica: Ser indígena en el sistema de protección social en Colombia.”

Warren Smit, African Centre for Cities, University of Cape Town, “Cities and health in the Global South.”

12h15-13h45                       LUNCH

13h45-15h30                       Can Border Environmental Management Promote Social Cohesion and therefore Regional

Integration? (Working Group: Management of Strategic Resources, Environment and Society) Chair: Carmen Maganda, University of Luxembourg

Kayla D. Berry, Laurel Saito (Presenter), Derek Kauneckis, and Kate Berry, Dept Nat Res and Env Sci/Grad Prog Hydrologic Sci/Dept Political Sci/Dept Geography, University of Nevada Reno, “Perceptions of success regarding cooperation for water quality issues in western US interstate watersheds.”

Isabel Studer, Center for Dialogue and Analysis on North America & Coordinator Green Business Forum/Business School/ITEM­Mexico City, “The Role of the North American Development Bank and the Border Ecological Cooperation Commission in Promoting Regional Integration and Cohesion.”

Angeles Mendoza Sammet, Protected Areas Management, “Social cohesion beyond borders: Does management of mining resources promote social cohesion and regional integration? Lessons from Canada and Mexico?”

Roberto Melville, CIESAS Mexico, “panel discussant.”

15h30-15h45                       Coffee break

15h45-17h30                       Disaster Risk Management and Adaptation to Climate Change: Does Social Cohesion Offer a

Framework for Vulnerability Reduction? (Working Group: The Social Construction of Risk and Disaster)

Chair: Virginia García Acosta, CIESAS, Mexico

Daniel Hermelín, Profesor del Departamento de Humanidades de la Universidad EAFIT, Medellín, “Riesgos de desastre, medios de comunicación y cohesión social: Oportunidades para la reducción de la vulnerabilidad en Colombia y en América Latina.” Andrea Lampis, CIDER, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, “Global Risks and Local Vulnerabilities: The Double Agenda of Adaptation and its Implications for Social Cohesion in the Global South.”

Jeroen Warner, Universidad de Wageningen (Países Bajos), “Hydro-hegemony or water security community? Cohesion, cooperation and conflict in transboundary river regimes in the SADC region and Western Europe.”

Julie Hermesse, Université catholique de Louvan (Belgique)/Fonds de la recherché scientifique (FNRS), “Transmission des savoirs coutumiers et << gestion des risques >> des catastrophe dans une localité mam du Guatemal.”

Saturday 3 December

08h30-10h15                       Social Cohesion, Citizenship and the Quality of Democracy as Imperatives for Improved Regional

Integration (Working Group: The Quality of Democracy) Chair: Victoria Graham, University of Johannesburg

Anton Pillay, University of Johannesburg, “Citizenship versus Integration: Xenophobia in South Africa.”

Maha Shuayb, Centre for Lebanese Studies, University of Cambridge, “Education for Social Cohesion: Lessons from Lebanon.” Claudia Koehler, European Forum for Migration Studies (EFMS), Bamberg, Germany, “Networks of local actors – a means of improving social cohesion within cities.”

Ndangwa Noyoo, National Department of Social Development (South Africa), “Bringing Social Cohesion into the Equation of Regional Integration: A Case of Southern Africa.”

10h30-17h00                       South African Cultural Activity for Conference Participants (by arrangement)

CONFERENCE SYNOPSIS

The key question to be addressed at this year’s RISC conference hosted by the University of Johannesburg’s Politics Department is whether social cohesion (or elements thereof) is a prerequisite for or a product of regional integration schemes. More concretely, does greater regional integration among the states of Southern Africa, for instance, require more social cohesion between the different national populations, or will higher levels of social cohesion be a consequence of deeper integration? Also, can regional integration reflect a deepening continental integration? Thirteen confirmed keynote panellists in the fields of development studies, politics, regional studies and anthropology are presenting papers at this conference and all papers will be reworked into book chapters for a RISC publication to be brought out next year and published by P.I.E.-Peter Lang: Brussels. The keynote panels will cover the following topics: