Food Security and Sustainable Development: Challenges for the Governance of International Relations
4th Annual Meeting of the GARNET network, Rome 11-13 November 2009

The GARNET Network of Excellence (Global Governance, Regionalisation and Regulation: The Role of the EU) and the Research Centre of International Economics (CIDEI) of Sapienza University of Rome, in cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and the World Food Programme (WFP), are convening an international conference on ‘Food Security and Sustainable Development: Challenges for the Governance of International Relations'.
The conference will be hosted by IFAD on November 11-13, 2009.
Recent changes in the international economy, characterised by the increasing share of emerging countries in world production, investment and trade, are generating strong instability in many markets, and particularly in the prices of raw materials and food products. This trend, intensified by the global financial and economic crisis, is putting at risk the modest progress achieved so far in the fight against poverty. Moreover, environmental problems are being exacerbated by the increasing competition for the use of natural resources.
This set of interrelated problems represents a fundamental challenge to the current status of international relations. Multilateral and regional institutions are increasingly under stress. This is visible not only in the stalemate of WTO negotiations, but also in the quarrels about international environmental agreements, and more generally in the lack of consensus about how to reform international institutions.
When the impossibility to fully achieve the Millennium Development Goals is acknowledged, tensions between developing and developed countries could be further intensified. The European Union has an important role to play in order to prevent this risk, both internally and externally.

The conference will address a wide range of research and policy issues regarding the international governance of the relationship between food security and sustainable development, including:
1) Food security and international trade: implications for multilateral and regional institutions
a. Trade liberalisation in the agricultural sector: market access and food security
b. Trade intermediaries and market access in the agricultural sector: the role of international competition policies
c. Food security and trade liberalisation in production and financial services
2) Poverty reduction and environmental problems: global governance of the fight for natural resources
a. How to ensure equitable and secure access to natural resources without jeopardizing their
sustainable management
b. How to promote the international diffusion of sustainable agricultural technologies
c. Gender differentiation and food security: the role of local communities
d. Non-farm rural development and poverty alleviation
e. The international governance of policies against rural poverty: legitimacy and participation
3) Beyond the Millennium Development Goals: measuring and achieving the progress of the international society
a. Human development and the Millennium Development Goals: the role of statistical indicators in improving knowledge and increasing the accountability of policies
b. The gender dimension of food security and sustainable development: statistical indicators and policy design
c. International integration and the progress of societies: measurement and policy challenges
4) International co-operation on food and environmental issues: The role of the European Union, the G-7, G-8, and G-20 system
5) International financial institutions, food security and sustainable development: the global crisis as an opportunity for structural reforms
This list is not exclusive. The conference aims to integrate research and expertise by bringing together scholars, policy makers, and social organisations from all continents. Contributions are invited from multiple disciplines, including Business Studies, Economics, Geography, History, International Relations, Law, Philosophy, Politics, Sociology, and Statistics. The conference convenors are committed to incorporating gender questions into the conference programme and encourage proposals addressing the gender dimension of the relationship between food security and sustainable development.
Deadlines
15 July 2009: abstract submissions (400-600 words).
31 August 2009: notification of authors.
15 September 2009: hotel and conference registration
15 October 2009: paper submissions
Conference support funds may be available for a limited number of paper presenters. Please indicate in your submission whether you wish to be considered for such support.
Some conference papers may be invited for publication in the CSGR/Routledge 'Globalisation' series or the GARNET/Routledge 'Europe in The World' series.
GARNET Conference Website http://w3.uniroma1.it/cidei/garnet/
GARNET http://www.garnet-eu.org