Call for Panel and Paper Proposals: Political Sociology Section at the ECPR General Conference 2020

We are happy to inform you that our section “Society-State Relations in Post-Democracy: Illiberalism and Populism and their Alternatives” has been accepted for the ECPR General Conference at the University of Innsbruck 2020 with seven panels. See below our section description.

The call for panels (with 4-5 papers) and papers is open until midnight UK time on 19 February 2020. You can submit your abstracts for panels and papers via the ECPR website.

 

Our section proposal:

Title: Society-State Relations in Post-Democracy: Illiberalism and Populism and their Alternatives

Chair: Laura Landorff, Aalborg Universitet

Co-Chair: Oscar Mazzoleni, Université de Lausanne

Abstract

This session addresses several topics crucial for political sociology, regarding severe threats to the liberal democratic political order brought on by the emerging illiberal nationalist and populist agency in different European countries. These new threats on the political scene build up their ideological and practical challenges from being against a set of heterogeneous and interchangeable targets, such as established national and EU political elites, global economic powers, migrants and refugees, underserving people, minorities, intellectuals, and others. In addition, growing social inequalities increasing risks and uncertainty, and the crisis of the political representation of different social groups create a specific context in which these tendencies have proliferated. New digital technologies offer innovative instruments and patterns of communication with the electoral body, and are often well used by nationalist and populist leadership. What will be the political consequence of these post-democratic illiberal trends? How do these challenges transform the relations between society and state? What kinds of alternative political discourse are emerging to contest these phenomena?

The ubiquity of these transformations posits challenges not only in terms of empirical knowledge but also in terms of a new theoretical reflection, re-assessment, and renewal. For instance, what can social theory say about populism in confrontation with the new forms of nationalism? How do populism and nationalism alter the European supra- and trans-national integration? How do they reshape the European and global borderscapes? In what ways do these new trends affect the most vulnerable social groups? How might we rethink political dis-engagement and re-engagement of individuals and groups in our societies? In what ways do new technological tools and their ordinary uses challenge the significance of expertise? Finally, what political and social alternatives to the illiberal trends can be identified today in the European context?

These questions will frame the focus of the session, but others may be proposed as well. This Section invites Panel proposals from various disciplinary angles and multiple methodologies to address key theoretical debates and empirical research in political sociology regarding the challenges of illiberalism and populism.

These questions will frame the focus of the session, but others may be proposed as well. This Section invites Panel proposals from various disciplinary angles and multiple methodologies to address key theoretical debates and empirical research in political sociology regarding the challenges of illiberalism and populism.

Call for Nominations for the Mattei Dogan Prize (open 1 November 2019)

As of 1 November 2019, the ECPR will welcome nominations for the 2020 Mattei Dogan Foundation Prize in European Political Sociology (deadline for nominations, Monday 2 March 2020).

The Mattei Dogan Foundation Prize is awarded for a major contribution to the advancement of political sociology. It is presented to either a scholar with an ensemble of outstanding scientific publications and constructive professional achievements or a coherent team of several researchers enjoying a high reputation in the international community of political sociologists. Please see the full description here https://ecpr.eu/Prizes/PrizeDetails.aspx?PrizeID=5

Previous award winners are Hanspeter Kriesi (2017), Maurizio Cotta (2015) and Virginie Guiraudon (2013).

Our SG is officially on board of the Mattei Dogan Prize! This year, Laura Landorff, Oscar Mazzoleni, as well as a former prize winner, Virginie Guiraudon, have been accepted as members of the the jury. If you know a potential candidate, please forward her/him the following call:

https://ecpr.eu/Prizes/PrizeDetails.aspx?PrizeID=5

 

 

Call for Paper Proposals: Joint Session Workshop on Lefts and Nationalisms, 14-17 April 2020, Toulouse

We are happy to announce that the Workshop proposal on the Lefts and Nationalisms, supported by our SG, has been accepted for the next Joint Sessions, that will take place in Toulouse between 14th and 17th April 2020.

You can find it also on the website of the ECPR:https://ecpr.eu/Events/PanelDetails.aspx?PanelID=8474&EventID=129.

Proposals, in English, must include a title, a summary of 300 words maximum and 3 to 8 keywords, and must be submitted online here:https://ecpr.eu/MyEcpr/Forms/PaperProposalForm.aspx?EventID=129.

Deadline: 5th November 2019 (midnight UK time).

The two directors of the Workshop invite those interested to contact them beforehand to discuss their communication project:

emmanuel.dallemulle[at]graduateinstitute.ch

tudi.kernalegenn[at]uclouvain.be

Call for Applications: 9th Berlin Summer School in Social Sciences

« Linking Theory and Empirical Research« 

Berlin, July 15 – 25, 2019

We are delighted to announce the 9th Berlin Summer School in Social Sciences. The summer school aims at supporting young researchers by strengthening their ability in linking theory and empirical research. The two-week program creates an excellent basis for the development of their current research designs.

In the first week, we address the key methodological challenges of concept-building, causation/explanation, and micro-macro linkage that occur in almost all research efforts. We strive for a clarification of the epistemological foundations underlying methodological paradigms. In the second week, these methodological considerations are applied to central empirical fields of research in political science, sociology, and other related disciplines. In this second part of the program, participants are assigned to four thematic groups according to their own research topic. The thematic areas covered are: « External Governance, Interregionalism, and Domestic Change », « Citizenship, Migration, and Identities », « Social Struggle and Globalization », and « Democracy at the Crossroads ».

The program is characterized by a varied format comprised of lectures, workshops, seminars, and a one-to-one consultation. During the summer school, participants will also have the opportunity to present and discuss their own work extensively. Participants will be provided with hands-on advice for their research designs.

The school brings together a faculty of renowned international and Berlin-based scholars. Among the confirmed international lecturers are Phillip M. Ayoub (Occidental College), John Gerring (The University of Texas at Austin), Hendrik Wagenaar (University of Sheffield), Anita Gohdes (Hertie School of Governance), Felix Berenskoetter (SOAS University of London) and Peter Hedström (Linköping University).

The Berlin Summer School was co-funded by the Berlin Graduate School of Social Sciences (BGSS) at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and the WZB Berlin Social Science Center. Details on the location and tuition fees can be found on our webpage www.berlinsummerschool.de.

The international summer school is open to up to 60 PhD candidates, advanced master students, and young postdocs. The call for applications is currently open. Applications can be submitted online via the application form on the summer school webpage until April 15, 2019.

The decisions of the selection committee will be announced to the applicants in April. If you have any further questions, please contact the organizing team at summerschool.bgss@hu-berlin.de

 

Call for papers: Panel « Thinking Reflexively about the Political Sociology of the EU » at 2019 ECPR General Conference

The political sociology panel proposal « Thinking Reflexively about the Political Sociology of the EU » for the upcoming ECPR General Conference in Wroclaw is still looking for further paper contributions. If you are interested in submitting a paper, please get in touch with dswartz[at]bu.edu before February 18, 2019.

 

PANEL DESCRIPTION

TITLE

Thinking Reflexively about the Political Sociology of the EU

 

ABSTRACT

In European politics today, new forms of transnational power are emerging that challenge the traditional parameters of action by nation states. New actors are creating new spaces of contest that may overlap but do not snuggle fit with the traditional spaces of political action.   This has called into question both institutional and constructionist perspectives that neglect underlying forms of power at work. New forms of solidarity and differentiation, both in terms of knowledge and social groups, are being created. The purpose of this panel is to encourage a more critically reflexive practice of the tools of political sociology in order to better account for these new political realities.  The panel draws inspiration from Niilo Kauppi’s 2018 book Toward a Reflexive Political Sociology of the European Union: Fields, Intellectuals and Politicians.  We are looking for papers that employ types of reflexive thinking to assess the recent political changes in the EU.

Nominations for the 2019 Mattei Dogan Foundation Prize

The ECPR welcomes now nominations for the 2019 Mattei Dogan Foundation Prize in European Political Sociology (deadline for nominations, March 1st).

The Mattei Dogan Foundation Prize is awarded for a major contribution to the advancement of political sociology. As written on the ECPR website, it is presented to either a scholar with an ensemble of outstanding scientific publications and constructive professional achievements or a coherent team of several researchers enjoying a high reputation in the international community of political sociologists. Please see the full description here https://ecpr.eu/Prizes/PrizeDetails.aspx?PrizeID=5

We would like to encourage you to come up with suggestions for nominations for the 2019 Mattei Dogan Foundation Prize, and send these to the SG steering committee (landorff[at]cgs.aau.dk, oscar.mazzoleni[at]unil.ch) until Thursday, 21st of February 2019. In consultation with our advisory board, we will then decide how to support a nomination coming from our Standing Group. Previous award winners are Hanspeter Kriesi (2017), Maurizio Cotta (2015) and Virginie Guiraudon (2013).

Call for papers: Conference on « Internet and new forms of political participation »

Lille (France), March 28-29th, 2019

With the support of the CERAPS (University of Lille), the CEDITEC (UPEC), the CEVIPOL (Free University of Brussels) and the CReSPo (Saint-Louis-Brussels University)

Deadlines :

  • Deadline for proposals submission : December 31st, 2018
  • Answer: January 15th, 2019
  • Sending of communications: March 15th, 2019
  • Conference: March 28th and 29th, 2019

To download the detailed call for papers, please click here.

Political Sociology section at the next ECPR General Conference in Wroclaw, September 4-7, 2019

We are very happy to inform you that our section ‘Political Sociology: Contemporary Challenges to State-Society Relations’ with eight panels has been accepted for the next ECPR General Conference in Wroclaw, September 4-7, 2019. The steering committee of the SG with the support of its advisory committee took the initiative for the section. Hence, now it is time to come forward with some very interesting suggestions for panels and papers. The call for panels (with 4-5 papers) and individual papers is open since December, 5th via the ECPR website. It will close on 18 February 2019. See the section description here: https://ecpr.eu/Events/SectionDetails.aspx?SectionID=839&EventID=123

New Publication: Activists Forever? Long-Term Impacts of Political Activism

 

Olivier Fillieule, Université de Lausanne, Switzerland

Erik Neveu, Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Rennes, France

 

Activists Forever? explores the consequences of political involvement on an individual’s life. While much of the research in this area has focused on the motivations of entire protests groups, the editors of this volume propose an approach that focuses on actors. This book examines political involvement’s socio-biographical effects, or the ways in which political commitment generates or modifies dispositions to act, think, and perceive, in a way that is either consistent with or in contrast to the results of previous socialization. The contents explore what political involvement leads to rather than what causes involvement. Using a variety of case studies, this collection of essays provides global coverage with a focus on participation in major protests in the 1960s and significantly broadens our understanding by looking outside the United States. These essays look at the lasting effects of activists’ knowledge, connections, and symbolic capital on their future participation in politics, as well as their personal and professional lives.

 

Introduction: Activists’ trajectories in space and time

Part I. From Shades of Red (or Blue) to Shades of Grey: The Ageing of Yesterday’s Activists:

1. The diversity of activist outcomes: the role of ideology in shaping trajectories of participation; 2. Biographical impacts of activism in the French ‘May ’68’; 3. Life stories of former French activists of ‘May ’68’: using biographies to investigate the outcomes of social movements; 4. Women in political activism: the biographical resonances of the ’68 student movement in a Latin American context;

Part II. Terrorist Violence, State Repression and Activists’ Experiences

5. ‘Join up’, they said!The biographical consequences of engagement in Morocco for the 1970s generation and its children; 6. From militancy to activism: life trajectories of Sikh women combatants; 7. ‘Married forever’, activists forever? What the multi-level and interactionist approaches to the study of ‘exit’ reveals about disengagement from radical organizations in contemporary Turkey; 8. Contextualizing the biographical outcomes of provisional IRA former activists: a structure-agency dynamic

Part III. Biographical Trajectories in Times of Transition. Social Movement Activists into Politicians?

9. When prophecy succeeds: the political failure of dissidents in the new Czech democracy; 10. From grassroots activism to the cabinet, round-trip: the puzzling trajectory of a peasant leader in Post-Communist Poland; 11. Red t-shirt or executive suit? About some biographical consequences of contentious engagement in the workers’ party in Recife, Brazil;

Addendum: life history as a tool for sociological inquiry; References; Index.

 

For more information, and to order, visit: www.cambridge.org/9781108428729 and enter the code FILLIEULE2019 at the checkout in order to obtain a 20% discount (valid till Nov 15  2019)

 

December 2018

228 x 152 mm   c.360pp   4 b/w illus.

Hardback  978-1-108-42872-9