CALL FOR ARTICLES
for the Special Issue of Southeastern Europe
Southeastern Europe in Comparison: Beyond the Region and Back
Guest editors: Diana Mishkova (CAS Sofia), Ulf Brunnbauer (IOS Regensburg)
The question of how Southeastern Europe is discursively imagined and the practices that contribute to region making continue to attract scholarly interest. Despite the deconstructivist critiques of regional concepts— particularly the idea of “the Balkans”—many researchers still treat Southeastern Europe as a useful analytical unit. At the very least, the region often serves as a productive starting point for framing and situating research questions, including such that, implicitly or overtly, grapple with the processes and mediums producing regions
This special issue takes the latter observation as its point of departure. Its central aim is to explore how our spatial units of analysis shift when we compare phenomena located in Southeastern Europe with similar developments elsewhere. What are the relevant geographies for different phenomena, especially when we reconstruct the spaces of communication and interaction that give rise to them? We invite contributions that pursue consistently comparative approaches—moving beyond Southeastern Europe to propose new geographies of comparison. Only through such comparisons can we identify what is truly specific or unique about a region—and, by extension, what constitutes a region in the first place.
We welcome contributions that compare Southeastern Europe with both neighboring, or other European, regions and seemingly unrelated parts of the world. This approach, which we term a transcomparative perspective, brings together comparative analysis and entangled histories. To paraphrase Lara Putnam, we are interested not only in connections but also in what is connected: how do transnational entanglements and global forces manifest differently—or similarly—across specific regions and localities?
A genuinely comparative approach is essential for understanding the paradox of an increasingly interconnected yet persistently heterogeneous world. Cultures, institutions, and individuals interact within place-specific conditions and histories, which shape their capacity to engage with, adapt to, or resist global dynamics. By comparing such constellations across diverse spaces, we can better understand regional and local variations of globality—and relate Southeast European experiences to those of other regions. Perhaps what we perceive as regional specificity is, in part, a reflection of our limited knowledge of other places. Comparison can help us find out.
We invite submissions from a range of disciplines, addressing historical or contemporary questions. We do not privilege any particular analytical scale; on the contrary, we seek to assemble a special issue that moves fluidly between local contexts and the broader scale of globality. Authors should clearly articulate the geographies – subnational, national or regional – relevant to their subject matter and explain the added value of their chosen comparative framework. What do we learn, for instance, by reading a phenomenon in the Balkans alongside a similar one in Africa? What is the spatial logic of the zones of interaction and communication that shape the issue at hand?
We do not prescribe a fixed set of themes, but encourage contributions that engage with pressing debates and draw on knowledge from Southeastern Europe and beyond. Topics of particular but not exclusive relevance might include:
– post-imperial legacies and decolonization;
– space-making and spatial imageries;
– economic development and environmental change;
– institution-building and legitimacy;
– struggles for equality and dynamics of inequality.
Along these lines, examples of comparison-geared questions might include: How do nineteenth-century nationalizing projects in Southeastern Europe compare to those in South America? Why was the postwar developmental state more successful in Taiwan and South Korea than in Romania and Bulgaria? How do Southeastern European contact zones compare to those in other world regions? What are the conditions for successful supranational regional integration in Europe and Southeast Asia? How does Balkan migrant transnationalism in the U.S. differ from that in Europe?
These examples are meant to inspire, not limit, the scope of contributions. We also welcome methodological reflections on the challenges and benefits of comparison, including discussions of concepts such as “similarity,” “difference,” and “family resemblance.” By heuristically connecting Southeastern Europe with other regions, we aim to decenter dominant narratives while placing the region at the heart of new comparative inquiries.
Be bold. Ask big questions.
The Journal Southeastern Europe is abstracted/indexed in Web of Science, Scopus and several other data bases. It was rewarded the highest listing, A, by Italy’s Research Quality Committee, Valutazione della Qualitat della Ricerca. In 2024 Brill entered a new stage as DeGruyterBrill.
Contacts:
– For conceptual issues – Prof. Diana Mishkova (mishkova@cas.bg) and Prof. Ulf Brunnbauer (ulf.brunnbauer@ur.de)
– For submission issues – Dr. Marco Zoppi (marcozoppi@hotmail.it)
Timeline:
– October 15, 2025 – abstract (300 words) and bio (150 words) to be sent to guest editors (mishkova@cas.bg and ulf.brunnbauer@ur.de)
– November 15, 2025 – feedback on the approval of the abstracts
– March 15, 2026 – submission of articles (7,500 – 10,000 words) to editors
– Spring 2026 – Authors workshop (most likely online) and editors’ feedback
– May 31, 2026 – submission of articles to SEEU Download Author Instructions
