European society, with its inherent dilemmas, discontents, and horizons of opportunity, urgently demands the attention of the social sciences in general and sociology in particular. As the depth and breadth of cultural, social, economic and political ties across the boundaries of European national spaces increases at a greater velocity, the need for diverse representations of European citizens on the European and global level concomitantly grows. However, European social spaces emerge in multiple and fragmented forms, which necessarily contest the idea of cultural, territorial and political unity inherent in, and enforced by, the concept of “Europe” itself. Transnational spaces in Europe do not overlap simply with national domains; nor do they correspond to administratively determined regions of the EU. The challenges of imagining a European-wide public sphere or European civil society, as well as the idea of European integration through multi-level governance, have only increased as European political and economic boundaries widen and shift. Additionally, the entry of new member states has increased the range of social and economic inequality throughout the European Union by producing new political hierarchies and new barriers to the social integration of Europe. The political landscape of Europe might very well become even more complex if some ‘old’ member states seriously consider opting out even as new countries enter the EU. The first anniversary of Croatia’s admittance in the EU is an appropriate occasion to discuss the present and future of European society, European citizenship, support for and alienation from the European integration project and the nature of emerging European social spaces.

The conference is organised under the auspices of:

• Croatian Sociological Association (HSD)
• European Sociological Association (ESA)
• President of the Republic of Croatia

Academic Board:

• Saša Božić (Croatian Sociological Association)
• Roberto Cipriani (European Sociological Association – Council of National Associations)
• Noémi Lendvai (University of Bristol, UK)
• Vjeran Katunarić (University of Zadar, Croatia)
• Manja Klemenčič (Harvard University, USA)
• Paul Stubbs (Institute of Economics, Zagreb, Croatia)

Keynote speakers:

• Roberto Cipriani (Università Roma Tre, Italy)
• Gerard Delanty (University of Sussex, UK)
• Vjeran Katunarić (University of Zadar, Croatia)
• Chris Rumford (Royal Holloway, University of London, UK)

Conference fee: 70 €
Please send the title and abstract (200 words) of your presentation by 3rd of March 2014 to info@hsd.hr

For any further information please contact the Secretariat of the Croatian Sociological Association at: info@hsd.hr