Un réseau thématique sur l’ensemble euro-méditerranéen (5ePCRD)

Cities as International and Transnational Actors:
      history, current dynamics and future role (CITTA)

Metropolitan areas have become international and transnational actors by building networks and developing foreign policies thus challenging Nation-States which previously had a monopoly of the relations at the international level. This proposal aims at a better understanding of this « new » role for cities through an investigation of two areas : City networks and cities as actors. In a first phase, we will question first the novelty of this role by analysing the previous European city networks from the Renaissance period to now ; second, we will study the organisation and the functioning of some of these networks and the reasons of the involvement of specific cities. Attention will then turn to the de-construction of cities as actors by analysing the internal functioning of each metropolitan area vis a vis city networks and cities’international policies (in short which actor(s) speak(s) for the city ? Who gets mobilised, why and how in the international area ?).

network flyer (pdf format)   / Website and database on city-networks
January 2003 - December 2005

Representations of the Past: The Writing of National Histories in Europe

National history is central to national identity. A sustained and systematic study of the construction, erosion and reconstruction of national histories across a wide variety of European states is a highly topical and extremely relevant exercise for two reasons: firstly, because of the long and successful history of the national paradigm in history-writing; and, secondly, because of its re-emergence as a powerful political tool in the 1990s in the context of the accelerating processes of Europeanisation and globalisation.  National histories form an important part of the collective memory of the peoples of Europe. National bonds have been, and continue to be, among the strongest bonds of loyalty. A genuinely trans-national and comparative investigation into the structures and workings of national histories will play an important part both in understanding the diversity of national histories in Europe and preparing the way for further dialogue and understanding among European nation-states.
The project will bring together the histories of Western and Eastern Europe in a concerted attempt to bridge the historiographical divide fostered by the Cold War division of the continent. Methodologically, the project unites cultural transfer and comparative approaches, which are the most appropriate means for exploring the complex relationship between national historiographies and national historical cultures in Europe. The last decade has witnessed an acceleration of projects involving comparative and cultural transfer approaches. Now is the time to bring those diverse attempts together in a Europe-wide research programme.

More information: Aims and objectives
Duration: five years from 1 May 2003 to 30 April 2008

European Collaborative Research/ European Collaborative Research

Il s’agit de projets de collaboration entre plusieurs équipes européennes (minimum 3 pays, tous les domaines des sciences sociales sont concernés (pas de thématiques pré-définies). Les financements sont nationaux et varient donc suivant les pays ; pour la partie française, les budgets peuvent être (environ) de 20.000 Euros. Les projets doivent être remis avant le 1er juin 2004.
Plus d’information sur le site de l’ESF : http://www.esf.org/esf_article.php?language=0&activity=5&domain=5&article=227&page=727
Download the original Call (pdf file) 

ESF contact:
Ms. Caroline Eckert 
European Science Foundation
European Collaborative Research Project in the Social Sciences
1 quai Lezay-Marnesia, 67080 Strasbourg Cedex, France
Phone: +33 (0)3 88 76 71 42 / Fax: +33 (0)3 88 37 05 32