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