Appel à contributions en français

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Deshima, we turn our gaze to the future and invite you to join us in imagining what “Northern Europe in 2100” might look like. The North is considered here in its broadest possible sense, encompassing the countries with maritime access to the Baltic Sea, the North Sea, the Greenland Sea, and the Barents Sea (from Belgium to the Scandinavian countries, via the Netherlands).

What forms, challenges, and transformations—political, social, cultural, economic, or environmental—might shape this region by the end of the century? We welcome scholars to share analyses, hypotheses, and visions. The aim is twofold: first, to explore possible trajectories, such as the evolution of national and regional identities, demographic shifts, the energy transition, the impact of climate change, the circulation of knowledge and cultures, and the role of Northern European countries in global geopolitics. Second, we aim to foster a collective reflection that transcends disciplinary boundaries, drawing on history, social sciences, literature, the arts, and foresight studies to open imaginative pathways for thinking the futures of the North differently.

What will “Northern Europe in 2100” look like? Territories swallowed by rising sea levels—or, on the contrary, pioneering floating cities connected by revolutionary modes of transport? Landscapes reshaped by melting ice and reinvented ways of life—or ice-dominated spaces, becoming laboratories for ecological and cultural transitions? Societies in which new hybrid languages and rituals have emerged and in which national borders are mere remnants—or communities that have withdrawn, fiercely clinging to their singularities? Could the North Sea become a new Mediterranean thanks to climate-driven tourism? Will Northern legends be reimagined to address the climate crisis (giving rise to new aquatic myths)? The issue seeks to open up new lines of thought and explore both utopias and dystopias. Science fiction may also be mobilized: it is not merely an escape toward what may seem impossible; it is a tool for envisioning plausible, desirable, or unsettling futures. We invite you to draw on your critical creativity, speculative narratives, and forward-looking visions to sketch these Northern European futures.

A particularly stimulating angle would also be to examine science-fiction narratives produced in the past by Northern European countries. Since the 20th century, these territories have developed a body of work rich—yet often overlooked—in distinctive features. Exploring these fictions—whether literary, poetic, cinematic (films, documentaries, series), or visual (video games, posters)—would help bring to light imaginaries of the future deeply rooted in Northern European contexts. Without being exhaustive, one might think, for example, of Starship Troopers by Paul Verhoeven; the science-fiction novels of Alfred Elton Van Vogt, an American of Dutch origin; Solaris korrigert by the Norwegian Øyvind Rimbereid; Fugl by Sigbjørn Skåden, the first science-fiction novel by a Sámi author; Tainaron: Postia toisesta kaupungista by the Finnish writer Leena Krohn; Aniara, a Swedish–Danish film adapted from Harry Martinson’s poem; UFO Sweden, a 2022 Swedish film by Victor Danell; Blindpassasjer, a 1978 Norwegian TV series; New Babylon, a utopian urban-planning project developed in the 1960s by Constant Anton Nieuwenhuys, then a member of the Situationist movement and influenced by Guy Debord. Other founders and members of COBRA may also be mobilized. These examples are, of course, not exhaustive.

We welcome contributions that help shape these horizons: anticipatory narratives, foresight scenarios, visionary analyses, political fictions or aesthetic proposals, and analyses of earlier cultural productions. To celebrate its 20th anniversary, we hope for this issue of Deshima to become the place where desirable—or unsettling—futures for Northern Europe are imagined.

This issue of Deshima is jointly edited by Thomas Beaufils, Roberto Dagnino, Cyrille François, and Thomas Mohnike.

Submission guidelines

Proposals should be sent to Thomas Beaufils (thomas.beaufils@univ-lille.fr), Roberto Dagnino (dagnino@unistra.fr), Cyrille François (cyrille.francois@unil.ch), and Thomas Mohnike (tmohnike@unistra.fr) by 28 February 2026. They should include:

• a title;
• an abstractof 200–300 words;
• 5 keywords;
• a short biographical note (5–6 lines).

Authors will be notified in March 2026. Full papers will be due by 30 September 2026. After double-blind peer review, accepted articles will be published in the 2027 issue.