ICOPEC 2014

CALL FOR PAPERS

“New Socioeconomic Perspectives, Social Movements, Actors” 

25-26 September, Kocaeli / Turkey

Throughout the history of mankind social problems, in the broader sense, have always been accompanied by social problems. Accordingly, we have been witnessing the emergence of new social movements in the process of transition from the 20th to the 21st century. The first part of the 20th century witnessed the rise of labour movement which was partly inherited from the previous century while the peasant movement had characterised rural societies. Mass mobilisation of the women’s movement in the second part of the 20th century characterised all societies, and the programme of feminism has been acknowledged widely though feminism as a concept was far from being recognised. The environmental movement, still lagging behind, has been defending its programme decisively in the 21st century. Although the history of the political struggles for the recognition of ethnic and cultural identities is relatively old, it has only been in the last two to three decades that these movements have been able to present their demands effectively. It has been the claims of ethnic, religious, sexual and other minority groups that have gained a legitimate ground. However, among all movements demands of the youth of the current century for freedom and democratic citizenship on the basis of genuine participation and rights at the global level are more significant.

It seems that in accordance with the development of the forces of production demands, the main issue and the form of social movements have been changing. Indeed well-disciplined labour movement characterised the nature of struggles within industrial societies and fordist production processes while the rise of the women’s movement followed the growing female labour force participation rate. The age of globalisation/information has witnessed two processes, that is, the increasing significance of intellectual-emotional labour over the manual labour force and the growing influence of white-collar labour in developing effective methods of struggle. Moreover, the demands of those sections of labour cannot just be confined to workplaces, rather they aim at improving and guaranteeing the conditions necessary to secure their lifestyles corresponding to their cultural capital. It is the same section of labour that has organised in a continuous re-structured social networks as against centralised organisations which always display the tendency of bureaucratisation. In fact, today’s youth movement has emerged in territories such as Brazil, Turkey, South East Asia and the Middle East within which there has been both an urgent need for participation and broadening the scope of rights and also an intellectual force that has been able to claim such demands.

Social problems and social movements emerge out of conflicting interests. Social movements might be connected to the prevailing interests of society, to mankind though at different levels, to the majority, sometimes to one-half of society or to a small minority. In that respect, the particular interests of mankind or of specific sections of society can be in conflict with the interests of others at least in the short term. Nevertheless, we live in an age in which individuals, sections, communities, and societies are more likely to take advantage of cooperation than conflict. Indeed, it is the welfare promised by the development of forces of production that influences the ways in which economic interests shaped by cooperation are decisive in the relations among nations, ethnic communities and different sections within the society. Rejection of civil/cultural rights of any community is in conflict with economic rationality. The waste and instability caused by the non-economic conflicts can no longer be bearable at the level of prevailing forces of production. In fact, there are understandable reasons why optimism is advantageous for capital accumulation. Globalisation and the capacity of mobile capital have both cruelly imposed flexibility upon workers and undermined the effectiveness of their struggle. However, it is of vital importance to improve the consumption capacity of masses who have already been integrated into capitalist prıduction relationships at the global level. The tendency of equalising labour costs would provide a solid ground to wage an effective working-class struggle. On the other side, the process of globalisation spreads out productive economic activities throughout the world. In enhancing economic productivity there is a need for a qualified labour force, that is, increasing female labour force participation in paid work, a continuous process of migration from rural to urban areas, and also a growing shift of employment from industrial to new service sector. The rise in the number of the qualified workforce, that is, intellectual-emotional labour should also be taken into account with respect to the time spent in education, and the availability of opportunities for individualisation. This leads to the development of regulations and legal frameworks which would enhance and guarantee individualisation and differentiation within different spheres including families, schools, workplaces and subjective living spaces. Maybe it is the creativity that relies on productivity caused by the differentiation in the level of development of prevailing forces of production that lies behind all these processes. However, the distinctive feature of the age is the ways in which the claims of individuals and minority groups are raised and recognised as right-based demands.

The 6th of our conference series will attempt to explain and account for the socio-economic circumstances that have given way to the rise of today’s social movements and the different aspects associated with this process. In this sense, other related topics and session proposals are welcomed as they would enrich the conference and expand the ground for further discussion. The language of the conference will be both Turkish and English. Abstracts and session proposals should be around 300 words, in Word format and 12 fonts, including paper title, the name(s) and full address (mail address, affiliated institution, e-mail, phone and fax) of the author(s), the purpose and the method of the work, expected results and suggestions, be submitted by July 01st,                     2014,              electronically     submit  to http://www.icopec.org/login.php Detailed information regarding the conference can be reached at www.icopec.org

MAIN STREAMS

Political Powers and the Choice of Political Economy

Economic Models of Political Processes

Marxism and Political Economy

Government, Economic Policies, and International Institutions

New Economic Policies

Political Economy of Financial Institutions

Rising Inequality and Politics of Redistribution

From Keynes, Friedman, Solow etc. to Neoliberal Policy

New Actors and Changes in Economic Policies

New Social Movements, Inequality and the Role of Economic Policies

The Economics of Globalization: Winners and Losers

Economic Approaches to Social Movements and New Actors of Economy

Financial Crises and Macroeconomics Policies

New Myths, New Actors and New Balances in Economic Policy and Growth

Economics of Social Movements in the Age of Crisis and Globalization

Economic Consequences of Social Movements

New Rules of Financial Architecture and Public Debt

Changes in Political Arena and Crises

New Cures for Crises

Social Memory; Protest Movements Making a Difference from Past to Today

Right of Peaceful Action and Theory of Civil Disobedience

Democracy and Right of Social Action

Middle East and Arabic World Protests

Government Policies of the 21st Century

Individualism versus Collectivism; Collective Actions in Neoliberal Era

New Types of Social Movements; Organising through Technology, Social Media, Music and Art

Identity/Class Politics and Social Movements

Social Movements and Expectations from the Future

Roles of NGOs in Social Movements

Social Transformation and Resistance Movements

Roles of Work Force in Social Movements

Urban Social Movements in the Face of Urban Renewal

Social            Movements                             on        the Axis of        Environment/Green Movement/Ecology

Class Politics and Social Movements

LGBT Movements

Transnational Activism/Digital Activism

Austerity Policies, Crisis/Unemployment and Urban Movements

Social Movements based on Gender and Identity

Social Movements and Social Transformation

Ideology and Social Movements

Civil Society Discourse of New Right and Trade Unions

Class and Social Movements

New Citizen Movements and Social Movements

New Social Movements-Country Cases

Social Movement Trade Unionism

Anti-Poverty Social Movements

Unemployed Movements

Working Women Movements

Opportunities and Limitations for New Social Movements

Social Movement Theory: Past, Present and Prospect

The “Multitude” as a New Socio-Political Agent

Anti-Globalization Movements, Social Forums

Identity Movements

Ecological and Environmental Movements, Ecological Villages

Water Movements / Peoples’ Movements Around Water

Urban Movements, The Movements Against Urban Renewal, Gentrification And Transformation

The New Experiences of Local Government

Feminist Movements /Women’s Movement

LGBTI Movement

Peace Movements / Anti-War Movements

Immigrant Movement

Non-Governmental Organizations as Actors of New Socio-Economic Perspectives

The New Role of Non-Governmental Organizations on Public Service Delivery: Experiences From Turkey and The World

New Forms of Solidarity, Collective Work and Cooperatives