Asia and Africa in Transition

New conference dates: 28-30 June 2021

Call for papers

We invite abstracts for paper presentations addressing one of the below listed panels. Your submission should include:

  • Name, affiliation, short bio
  • Abstract including title (up to 250 words)
  • Intended panel

We also invite full panel proposals for Asia and Africa related themes not covered in the panels listed below. Your submission should include:

  • Name, affiliation and contact details of convener/contact person
  • Title and description of panel (up to 250 words)
  • Name and affiliation of 3-4 presenters in the panel, title of their presentations and abstracts (each up to 250 words)


Due to the postponement of the conference the deadline has been extended.
New deadline: 31 January 2021 - PLEASE NOTE: Some of the panels have extended deadlines - find them here. 

Proposals should be submitted via email to asia-africa-2020@ku.dk

In the event that we receive more proposals than we can accommodate, the organisers and conveners will decide among the submitted proposals.

Open panels

The panels below are open for abstract submissions.

Asian partners in the transition of ports in Africa
Convener: Annette Skovsted Hansen, Japan and Global Studies, Aarhus University

Banal democracies: Beyond electoral temporality  Extended deadline: 1 March
Conveners: Frauke Mennes and Asmus Rungby, Dept. of Anthropology, University of Copenhagen

China going global: Historical trajectories, current debates, and future prospects
Convener: Jun Liu, Dept. of Communication, University of Copenhagen

Foreign agricultural investments as driver of rural transformation?
Conveners: Rikke Brandt Broegaard, Dept. of Geoscience and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen and Helle Munk Ravnborg, Danish Institute for International Studies

From recipients to donors: New engagement of Asian countries in humanitarian aid in Africa
Conveners: Stig Jensen, Centre for African Studies, University of Copenhagen and Shiling Xu, Innovation Center for Risk Governance, Beijing Normal University

Health systems in transition: Human health resources as agents of change
Conveners: Bishal Gyawali & Tania Dræbel, Global Health Section, University of Copenhagen

Situated natalisms – familial and filial forms in Africa and Asia  Extended deadline: 31 March 
Conveners: Ayo Wahlberg Dept. of Anthropology, University of Copenhagen, Tyler Zoanni, Ethnologie, University of Bayreuth

Sustainability strategy and Asian investments in energy in Africa – Regulatory governance and dispute resolution  Extended deadline: 1 March 
Convener: Wen Xiang, Faculty of Law, University of Copenhagen

The geopolitics of China’s rise in Africa: Implications and challenges for democratisation and human rights  Extended deadline: 1 March 
Convener: Yosef Kamal Ibssa, Dept. of Sociology and Political Science, University of Copenhagen

The geopolitics of the Indo-Pacific  Extended deadline: 1 March 
Conveners: Andreas Bøje Forsby, Nordic Institute of Asian Studies, Peter Marcus Kristensen, Dept. of Political Science, University of Copenhagen

The making of Belt and Road Initiative projects in African states: Local actors, interests and policy link-ups
Convener: Julie Yu-Wen Chen, Dept. of Cultures, University of Helsinki

Urbanization in rural regions of Africa and Asia
Conveners: Torben Birch-Thomsen and Jytte Agergaard, Dept. of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen