EISA & COVID-19

Dear EISA members,We would like to give you a clearer idea about EISA plans and events in this generally unpredictable context of the covid 19 pandemic – which takes a serious toll also on our field, with a variety of conferences and workshops already cancelled.

Our most important concern is the health and welfare of our members and their families. We are therefore not going to run events where the pandemic is escalating and/or where travel and other restrictions present a formidable barrier to attendance. In light of this principle, we have put preparations for EWIS in July in Brussels on hold for now. And if the workshops have to be cancelled, we will reimburse the registration fees of members (exclusive of the 20 EUR administrative fee, i.e. bank charges). However, EWIS is still 3 months away and it is possible that the situation significantly improves by then – so that hopefully we will be able to hold the workshops.

This is even more the case for the Pan-European Conference in Malta in September. We hope that in the space of the next 6 months, the pandemic will be brought under control. If so, we would love to run both the Early Career Workshops and PEC in Malta. In order to keep this option open, we have to continue with the organization of the conference and the workshops. We therefore strongly encourage our members to submit paper and panel proposals! We are extending the deadline for abstract submissions for PEC to 31 March 2020 and participation applications for ECW to 14 March 2020 – at which point we will review the situation and update you on the prospects for EWIS and PEC. And please remember that submissions incur no financial commitments.

Organization for the Exploratory Symposia in Rapallo at the end of October has been put on hold for the moment, awaiting the fate of the Pan-European Conference.

Finally, this pandemic raises interesting questions for IR scholars in general – and for our professional organizations and activities in particular. We will therefore also take this opportunity to explore alternative technologies for academic cooperation and exchange in the future.

With the very best wishes, especially for health,

Beate Jahn
Maria Mälksoo
Juha Vuori