Regional Studies Association Network
Peripherality, Marginality and Border Issues in Northern Europe
The periphery and its host economy: Symbiosis, exploitation or burden?

University Centre of the Westfjords, Ísafjörður, Iceland
02.09.2012-06.09.2012

Call for Papers

Following a workshop in Rena/Norway and a conference in Paisley/Scotland we hereby invite researchers, students, practitioners and policy makers to the fourth meeting of the Peripherality, marginality and border issues in Northern Europe Regional Studies Association Research Network. The 2012 meeting is chaired by Peter de Souza, Mike Danson and Anne Lorentzen and organised by the University Centre of the West¬fjords, Iceland.

As the research network is mainly concerned with Europe's Celtic-Nordic periphery, Iceland's Westfjords are a predestined place to meet - you can not reach further to the northwest in Europe, and peripherality and marginality won't escape you here: the Westfjords, a region of stunning beauty and rich fishing grounds, are today the most remote region of Iceland, having lost 30% of its population during the last 30 years. Peripherality, marginality and structural problems are a daily occurrence, and border issues are not even on the agenda, although Greenland is close.

Future regional policy thus is of eminent importance for the Westfjords, and so is research on the topic. This is why the University Centre of the Westfjords is proud to join the organisation of the 2012 Pemabo conference. We hope this conference will not only provide you with a striking peripheral setting of the conference and input for your future research, but we do hope that this conference will also help us in the periphery to join the scientific discussion, learn from it and build a realistic, sustainable future for our peripheral regions.

Main themes:

Theme 1: Smart Sustainable Growth in the Periphery - an Oxymoron?
Theme 2: The Interregional Social Contract - Need for Revision?
Theme 3: Current Practice and Research of Peripheral Regions
Please find an extensive outline of the three themes here.

Deadlines - Please note that the deadline has been extended!
Abstract submission deadline: 30.06.2012. Abstracts are to be submitted to pernilla@uwestfjords.is
Registraton for the conference: 30.06.2012. Later registration fee: € 100,- (in stead € 90). See also Registration.

Aims of the RSA-pemabo Research Network
Peripherality • Marginality • Border Issues

• To gather the scientists and regional actors around peripheral, marginal and border regional issues;

• To define its own, more specific, agenda in a first workshop where a thematic approach will be covered and future themes defined;

• To promote scientific discussions and contributions forwarding theoretical and methodological issues in relation to peripheral, marginal and border regional issues.

• To develop this discussion directly and through the organization of empirical studies creating a foundation for comparativity on a wide geographical scale.

• To establish different fora where this discussion will be undertaken on the net and face-to-face.

• To liaise with complementary networks and associations of academics, policymakers and practitioners in peripheral Europe, including but not exclusively the Centre for Island Studies and the Nordic-Scottish Network.

• To ensure that the results will be continuously presented electronically and gathered in specific edited variants.

• Finally, to establish structured and long term cooperation in this field.

www.pemabo.net