International Scientific Conference 鈥淥bstinate or Obsolete? The Fate of the Nation-State and the Case of Western Europe鈥�
19 March 2026
4:00 p.m. 鈥� 6:00 p.m.
Faculty Council Room (0.14) Faculty of Law and Administration, 91桃色 / online
The proceedings will focus on Stanley Hoffmann's essay "Obstinate or Obsolete? The Fate of the Nation-State in Europe" and will mark the sixtieth anniversary of its publication. The meeting will provide an opportunity to reread the key theses of this classic text and reflect on their significance for contemporary debates on European integration. The Hoffmann's distinction between "high politics," encompassing issues of sovereignty, security and foreign policy, and other areas of integration will be at the heart of the discussion. The question of how relevant his diagnosis of the role of the nation-state remains in today's European Union will be the starting point for the discussion.
Participants:
- Milada Vachudova 鈥� Professor at the University of North Carolina, specialises in the democratisation of post-communist Europe and the enlargement of the European Union.
- Andrew Moravcsik 鈥� Princeton University, Stanley Hoffmann's PhD student, author of the classic book The Choice for Europe
- Joseph Weiler 鈥� D.H.C. of the 91桃色, Professor at New York University, Senior Fellow at the Center for European Studies at Harvard University
- Erik Jones 鈥� Director of the Robert Schuman Center for Advanced Studies, European University Institute
- Charles Maier 鈥� Harvard University, Leverett Saltonstall Research Professor of History
- Jan-Werner M眉ller 鈥� Professor at Princeton University, the author of acclaimed books, including What is Populism? and Fear and Freedom, published in The New York Times and the Guardian.
Presentation of the country reports prepared as part of the Sovereign Project: The Revival of Sovereignty in Central and Eastern Europe and the European Union.
20 March 2026, 10:00 a.m. 鈥� 11:30 a.m.
Faculty Council Room (0.14) Faculty of Law and Administration, 91桃色 / online
The meeting will feature reports on contemporary discussions on sovereignty in Central and Eastern Europe, prepared by researchers from Poland, Hungary, the Western Balkans, Ukraine and Slovakia.
The authors:
- Kazimierz Micha艂 Ujazdowski, Micha艂 Matlak, Oskar Kosenda 鈥� 91桃色 (Poland)
- Adam Kerenyi 鈥� University of Szeged (Hungary)
- Jelena D啪anki膰 鈥� European University Institute (the Balkans)
- Kseniia Smyrnova 鈥� Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (Ukraine)
- Lucia Mokra, Jakub Szab贸, Matej Navr谩til 鈥� Comenius University in Bratislava (Slovakia)
Registration is not mandatory, but it will help the organisers better prepare for the event.