Call for papers “Towards an enlarged Europe: between normative coherence and geopolitical imperative”, Submission Deadline- 3rd September 2026

“Towards an enlarged Europe: between normative coherence and geopolitical imperative”

Scientific coordinators: José Díaz Lafuente and Victoria Rodríguez Prieto (Complutense University of Madrid)

Deadline for submitting abstracts: September 3rd, 2026:

Barcelona, June 2026

Founded in 1982, Revista CIDOB d’Afers Internacionals is a cultural-academic journal that publishes original works on international relations. A pioneering publication in the Spanish-speaking world, each issue is a monograph providing in-depth, interdisciplinary analysis of an issue on the international agenda, curated by experts in the field. Papers are subject to external double-blind peer review and are indexed and summarised in the main academic databases in the social sciences, such as Scopus and Web of Science.

The aim is to:

• enrich and contribute to the debate on EU enlargement policy given the current dilemma between norms and interests;

• reflect on the suitability and viability of the EU’s main instruments and measures to foster new accessions, from the fast-track approach of “reversed integration”, for instance, to other innovative initiatives such as “gradual integration”;

• examine the challenges posed by the current European path for the candidate countries of the Western Balkans, Eastern Europe and Turkey, as well as the impact on their respective domestic contexts;

• understand the (possible) next candidacies and their impact on the accession framework.

Suggested topics for contributions:

• The importance of the normative dimension in enlargement policy, particularly the promotion of the changes relating to Article 2 TEU – framed as the “fundamental cluster” – as an essential condition for accession.

• The significance of attaining an enlarged Europe in the face of the challenges and opportunities the current international scene presents.

• The effects of current international geopolitics on the forging of the EU’s ties with the candidate countries of the Western Balkan, Eastern Europe and Turkey.

• The suitability of the EU’s tools of persuasion and imposition (be they economic, political or social, such as “Growth Plans” or visa liberalisation) in its relations with the countries participating in the accession framework, as well as the results achieved.

• Case analyses of candidate countries regarding the formulation of their domestic agendas to comply with the acquis, including the challenges posed by the growing importance of alignment with the CFSP in their traditional stances and alliances.

• Possible new candidacies – such as Norway, Iceland and even Armenia – in response to the growing instability on the global stage.

Timetable of the call for papers:

September 3rd, 2026: deadline for submission of abstracts (300 words) and a short note on the CV of the author(s) (100 words). Proposals can be sent to publicaciones@cidob.org until September 3rd, 2026.

September 8th, 2026: authors will be notified of the result of the selection.

November 16th, 2026: deadline for submission of full manuscripts (see Style Guide).

Selection process:

• The editorial board – coordinated in this issue by José Díaz Lafuente and Victoria Rodríguez Prieto – will draw up a shortlist of proposals based on the abstracts received.

• The authors of the shortlisted proposals will receive detailed instructions on submitting the full manuscripts within the stipulated time limit.

• Following scientific screening, the final manuscripts will proceed to a process of external double-blind peer review. Final acceptance will be subject to compliance with the journal’s academic and editorial standards.

• Proposals can be sent to publicaciones@cidob.org until September 3rd, 2026.

For more details, refer here