'One hundred years of Irish foreign policy: looking back, looking forwards'

The International Affairs Conference is always a highlight of the Royal Irish Academy's calendar. This year’s conference 'One hundred years of Irish foreign policy: looking back, looking forwards' will take place on 23 May 2019.  Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Simon Coveney, T.D. will address the conference and the plenary will be delivered by Ambassador Geraldine Byrne Nason, MRIA, Permanent Representative of Ireland at the United Nations.

*Article photo caption: George Gavan Duffy, Seán T. Ó Ceallaigh and Margaret Gavan Duffy leaving the Grand Hotel in Paris, May 1919, en route to present French premier Georges Clemenceau with a memorandum setting out the case for recognising Irish independence.

Image courtesy of Military Archives

2019 Conference Themes

2019 marks the centenary of the establishment of the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs, now the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.  This year's conference will examine the history, contemporary dynamics and future challenges of Irish foreign policy and foreign policy-making.

The standing committee welcomes paper proposals in the following areas: the history of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Irish foreign policy-making actors, institutions and processes; major thematic issues in Irish foreign policy, including relations with Britain, Northern Ireland, the European Union, the United Nations, peacekeeping, human rights, disarmament and development policy; Ireland in a comparative perspective, for example as a small state, an EU member, a UN member and a globalised state; and ‘new’ issues and ‘new’ actors in foreign policy writ large, such as climate change, technology, non-governmental actors and transnational movements.

Foreign policy experts/professionals/practitioners, economists, sociologists, media studies experts, geographers, lawyers, political scientists, historians, social scientists are all invited to submit proposals. The committee also encourages applications from advanced doctoral students and postdoctoral colleagues.  

We welcome proposals from scholars in all academic disciplines, as well as current and retired practitioners in foreign policy, government and civil society.  Paper proposals (300 words in length) should be completed on this form by 17:00 on Tuesday, 19 March 2019.  Please email info@ria.ie with any queries.

It is envisaged that papers from the conference may be considered for publication in the journal Irish Studies in International Affairs and submission of paper proposals confirms that the authors are agreeable for their paper to be published in the journal should they be accepted.
 

Data Protection

All personal data collected will be used solely for the purpose of conducting a review assessment in line with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).  Please also refer to the RIA Publications Department's Data Protection and Retention Statement and Jotform Transparency Statement which are both contained on our GDPR webpage linked to above.  Data in submissions to this Open Call may be shared with the Standing Committee for International Affairs, reviewers, RIA publications and administrative personnel.  Data, including CVs will be retained for the duration of the review process and administration of the conference and journal.