The ECPR General Conference 2003 will be held in Marburg (Germany) from 18-21 
September. One of the sections will be on 'Extremism & Democracy' and is chaired by 
Cas Mudde. The key question that should guide and connect the various papers and 
panels of the section is: What are the relationships between 'extremism' and 
'democracy'? Consequently, though the main focus of papers can be on the extremist 
actors themselves, they should be studied in relation to their democratic environment, not 
in isolation of it.

The section hopes to attract original paper and panel proposals on a broad variety of 
'extremist' forces; i.e. right and left, secular and religious, violent and non-violent, 
European and Asian. Given the nature of the ECPR, the papers should be of relevance to 
political science, and preferably of a comparative nature (i.e. either involving a 
comparison of two or more cases, or being of comparative use). Of particular interest are 
political philosophy and conceptually innovative papers.

The aim is to organise some ten panels with one chair, three-four paper givers, and one 
discussant each. So far, seven panels have been accepted. Two are already full, but paper 
proposals for the following panels can still be submitted to the respective chairs:

1. The extreme left in Eastern Europe (Luke March, Edinburgh)
2. Populism and the media (Stefaan Walgrave, Antwerp)
3. The new populists of Europe (Reinhold Gärtner, Innsbruck)
4. Democratic state responses to extremism (Giovanni Capoccia , Oxford)
5. The extreme right in office (Cas Mudde, Antwerp)
6. Civil society, political extremism and the defending democracy ( Ami Pedahzur, Haifa)

In addition, I am looking for further panel and paper proposals, most notably (though not 
exclusively) on the following topics:

- Religious fundamentalisms compared
- Anti-globalisation movements
- Comparing political extremism and religious fundamentalism

Proposals for panels and for general papers (outside of the panels mentioned above) 
should be submitted by e-mail to Cas Mudde.
- Panel proposals should include the name of at least the chair or discussant and two 
paper givers (including title of the paper). The deadline for submission of panels is 31 
December 2002.
- Paper proposals should include a short abstract of no more than 20-30 lines! The 
deadline for submission of papers is 28 February 2003.

It is important to note that all ECPR conferences are first and foremost for scholars who 
are employed at institutions with ECPR membership. If your institution is not a member 
of the ECPR, a conference fee of 100 euro will be charged and your acceptance might be 
dependent upon a quota system!


Labour Movement and Fascism

On 8 November 2003 the Society for the Study of Labour History will organise a one-day 
conference on "The Labour Movement and Fascism" at the School of Continuing 
Education, University of Leeds. Plenary speakers will be Roger Griffin and Ken Lunn. 
The focus of this conference is on the relationship between the labour movement and 
fascism. Papers are invited on the following themes:
- Fascist leaders who previously were members of the Labour Party (LP) or Communist 
parties (e.g. Oswald Mosley, John Beckett and Alexander Raven Thomson). How well 
developed was their 'socialism', and how much of it lasted beyond 1931? Is it useful to 
speak of a 'left-wing strand' within British fascism? How long did these former left-wing 
activists last within fascist parties? How easy was the relationship between them and their 
party?
- The origins of British anti-fascism. Where have different anti-fascist traditions come 
from? How have LP-controlled institutions responded to the rise of fascism? Was there a 
difference between police and Home Office policies towards fascism in 1936 and 1948, 
or indeed in 1958 and 1977? What has been the relationship between local Labour 
cultures and fascism? Have the working-class cultures of Northern England provided an 
impenetrable barrier to fascism?
- Did the far-right parties develop strategies to relate to areas of trade union and labour 
strength?
- Have there been times when labour supporters were sympathetic to specific demands 
put forward by far-right groups? 
- What has been the role of women or ethnic minorities who identified with the LP: has 
their activity led to the adoption of distinct anti-fascist strategies? What about labour 
movement traditions outside the LP? 
- What tensions have there been in local and national labour movement responses to 
fascism or the far-right?

The organisers of the conference also invite papers with a strong historical grounding that 
address post-war or contemporary fascism and anti-fascism; as well as studies that 
compare fascism or anti-fascist movements in more than one country. Proposals (200 
words) should be sent to Dr. Malcolm Chase , School of Continuing Education, 
University of Leeds, LS2 9JT, United Kingdom.


Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: A One Day Seminar for Students 

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict remains one of the most prominent issues in world politics 
today, making it an appropriate topic for deep discussion. A one-day seminar will be held 
at the University of Lodz (Poland) on Monday, 31 March 2003, to examine the history 
and contemporary issues of the conflict. An opening lecture will cover the history and 
historical background of the conflict from its earliest origins to the present day. Students 
are invited to present papers on detailed aspects of the conflict. Papers from a variety of 
disciplines including but not limited to Politics, International Relations, History, 
Sociology, Media Studies, Linguistics, Religion, and other disciplines are welcome. 
Papers on topics including but not limited to: media coverage of the events in the Middle 
East, terrorism, Jewish settlers, Arab-Israeli wars, Palestinian refugees, specific issues of 
Middle East politics, the role of the United States, UN, Arab nations, the EU or other 
members of the world community in the conflict and conflict resolution, and proposals 
for peace are all welcome. The Seminar will be conducted in English.

Students wishing to present a paper at the seminar are invited to submit a one-page paper 
proposal along with a CV and a cover sheet with the applicant's name, address, telephone 
number and email address, home University, Faculty, and Department. Proposals are due 
by December 15, 2002, and should be sent to Helene Sinnreich.


Perspectives on Evil and Human Wickedness Conference

Location: Czech Republic
This inter-disciplinary and multi-disciplinary conference seeks to examine and explore 
issues surrounding evil and human wickedness. Perspectives are sought from those 
engaged in the fields of anthropology, criminology, cultural studies, legal studies, 
literature, philosophy, psychology, sociology, and theology. Perspectives are sought from 
those working in the caring professions, the media, prison services, politics, psychiatry 
and other work-related and vocational areas. 

Papers, reports, work-in-progress and workshops are invited on issues related to any of 
the following themes: the concept and language of 'evil' and 'wickedness'; the nature 
and sources of evil and human wickedness; moral intuitions about dreadful crimes; 
psychopathic behaviour-mad or bad?; choice and (diminished) responsibility, social and 
cultural reactions to evil and human wickedness; the portrayal of evil and human 
wickedness in the media and popular culture; suffering in literature and film; individual 
acts of evil, group violence, holocaust and genocide; obligations of bystanders; terrorism, 
war, ethnic cleansing; the evils of terrorism, fear of terrorism, international relations 
especially with regard to the modern nation state, superpower interventionist strategies, 
post-war reorganisation following the evils of war; the search for meaning and sense in 
evil and human wickedness; the nature and tasks of theodicy; religious understandings of 
evil and human wickedness; postmodern approaches to evil and human wickedness; 
ecocriticism, evil and suffering; evil and the use/abuse of technology; evil in cyberspace.

Papers will be considered on any related theme. 300 word abstracts should be submitted 
by Friday 13 December 2002. If an abstract is accepted for the conference, a full draft 
paper should be submitted by Friday 14th February 2003. For more information contact 
Dr Rob Fisher or visit this website.


Social Movements Conference

Between 1995 and 2002 Manchester Metropolitan University hosted eight very 
successful international conferences on "Alternative Futures and Popular Protest". A 
Ninth conference will be held from 22-24 April 2003.

The Conference aim is to explore the dynamics of popular movements, along with the 
ideas which animate their leaders and supporters and which contribute to shaping their 
fate. Reflecting the inherent cross-disciplinary nature of the issues, previous participants 
(from over 40 countries) have come from such specialisms as sociology, politics, cultural 
studies, social psychology, economics, history and geography. The Manchester 
conferences have been notable for discovering a fruitful and friendly meeting ground 
between activism and academia.

We invite offers of papers relevant to the conference themes. Papers should address such 
matters as: contemporary and historical social movements and popular protests; social 
movement theory; utopias and experiments; ideologies of collective action, etc. To offer a 
paper, please contact either of the conference convenors with a brief abstract:
either Colin Barker or Mike Tyldesley. Final date for receipt of abstracts: 24 March 2003.


Summer Institute for Holocaust and Jewish Civilization Studies

The Holocaust Educational Foundation at the Northwestern University, Chicago, USA 
and the Centre for European Studies at Jagiellonian University, Cracow, Poland 
announce a Summer Institute for Holocaust and Jewish Civilization Studies to be held on 
July 1-14, 2003 in Cracow. 

The Institute for Holocaust and Jewish Civilization Studies is open to all academic 
instructors from Central and Eastern Europe who have an interest in developing a course 
on teaching the Holocaust in their respective universities and to academic instructors who 
are already teaching a course and would like to benefit from the courses offered. We 
welcome applications from the teaching faculty in a range of disciplines, including 
history, political science, international relations, sociology and pedagogy. We also 
encourage Ph.D. candidates to apply. A total of 25 participants will be selected to attend 
the Institute. Those accepted will receive full fellowships, including tuition, written 
materials, room and board, access to computers and the library. Travel allowances will be 
considered on an individual basis. The working language will be English with translation 
into Polish or Russian. 

Applicants should write a résumé and a short letter indicating their interests, how they 
would benefit from the Institute and fill out the application form which can be found at 
this website. The requirement for receiving the fellowship is that participants must then 
conduct a Holocaust related course at their university. Confirmation of such a course 
being conducted at the applicant's university is requested. Ph.D. candidates should 
include a recommendation from their thesis advisor. The deadline for application is 
February 28, 2003. Applications may be sent via e-mail.

Totaliarian Movements and Political Religions: Special Issue on Political Charisma.

Volume 6 (2005) of this journal (edited by Michael Burleigh, Emilio Gentile, and Robert 
Mallett) will focus on the issue of political charisma. There will a linked book published 
by Frank Cass.

The term 'charisma' was introduced into the social science vocabulary by Max Weber. 
However, Weber never elaborated on his 'ideal type'. As a result, it has been left to others 
to expand on Weber's typologies and hypotheses. The term 'charisma' has been applied to 
a remarkable variety of individuals including: Mahatma Gandhi, Adolf Hitler, John F. 
Kennedy, Hugo Chavez and Jean-Marie le Pen. But what do these leaders have in 
common? What factors allow for the emergence of 'charismatic' leaders? Are charismatic 
leaders necessarily male (Eva Perón?) Is charisma so vague a term that it has little or no 
analytical value? These - and other themes - will form the basis of this journal special 
issue/book.

Proposals or mss relevant to political charisma in any part of the world (NB there will be 
no coverage of charisma in management, or in purely religious contexts - though political 
religions are highly relevant) should be sent to:

Professor Roger Eatwell (Guest Editor),
Department of European Studies and Modern Languages,
University of Bath,
Bath BA2 7AY, UK.

Or, via e-mail

Waco: Ten Years After

An interdisciplinary conference sponsored by the Department of History and the 
PORTfolio program at Virginia Wesleyan College, invites submissions of proposals for 
papers or panels. This conference will be held on the college campus in Norfolk/Virginia 
Beach, VA on 4-5 April 2003. 

Submissions are invited in all fields that cover the many aspects and legacies of the 
Branch Davidian siege of 1993. The interest is not solely in concentrating on the specific 
background and events of that year, but also on their long-term impact and continuing 
significance in American culture, society, politics, and art. We welcome a wide variety of 
interpretations and perspectives from different disciplines. 

This conference is founded on a desire to mark this significant anniversary and to explore 
the complex issues surrounding it in the particular atmosphere of post-9/11 America. In 
what ways and why has our understanding of the meaning of Waco changed in the past 
decade? Some possible topics to consider in this context are religious freedom, terrorism, 
radical politics, the exercise of state authority, the question of military involvement in 
civilian law enforcement, the role of the media in depicting and interpreting the events, 
and many others. 

Please send a brief description of your proposed paper or panel to Dr. Daniel S Margolies
Dept. of History, Virginia Wesleyan College, 1584 Wesleyan Drive, Norfolk, 
VA 23502, United States. Submissions will be accepted via e-mail or regular mail until 
20 January 2003.