CALL FOR PAPERS
Under the collective rubric Rethinking Social Democracy, a series of three interdisciplinary and comparative conferences is being organised to explore the past histories, present opportunities and future prospects of European social democracy.
These international conferences are sponsored by a range of bodies including the Institute of Contemporary British History, London; the Labour Movements group of the Political Studies Association (PSA); the Fabian Society, London; Manchester University International Centre for Labour Studies; New Politics Network, London; the Gramsci Foundation, Rome; the Office Universitaire de Recherché Socialiste (OURS), Paris; the Labour Movement Archives and Library, Stockholm; the Swedish Institute of Contemporary History, Sodertorns Hogskola, Sweden; Fundació CIDOB, Barcelona; Fundación Alternativas, Madrid; Fundació Rafael Campalans, Barcelona; the journals Soundings, Socialist History and The Journal of Southern Europe and the Balkans; the publishers Lawrence & Wishart.
- London, 15/16/17 April 2004, Social Democracy, Culture and Society: Historical Perspectives
- Swansea, Easter 2005, The Political Economy of Social Democracy: Past, Present and Future
- Sheffield, Easter 2006, Post-industrial Societies and Social Democracy
Scope
The conferences seek to contribute to debates in progress across Europe and beyond by re-evaluating the legacies of social-democracy and mapping out its future prospects in view of the challenges of globalisation, the decline or retrenchment of organised labour movements and the claimed ideological hegemony of neo-liberalism. Drawing upon existing networks, the project is conceived over a sustained period as helping to make connections between academics, activists and political figures across national and disciplinary boundaries. It is the organisers' belief that it is only on an international scale, and making use of comparative methodologies, that the past achievements and limitations of European social democracy can properly be evaluated and its future world prospects clearly understood. Starting from a European perspective, we are committed to examining developments throughout the world, but particularly in places where social democratic thought and movements have been influential in the past, and also where there is clearly potential for future development.
The project steering committee gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the Barry Amiel and Norman Melburn Trust and the administrative assistance of the International Centre for Labour Studies, Manchester University and the New Politics Network.
The conferences
Taking place over three days, each conference is intended to bring together practitioners, (including academics, politicians, and trade unionists), from a range of disciplines, including history, politics, economics, sociology, industrial relations, cultural studies, and philosophy. As well as including a range of different national and disciplinary perspectives, papers which themselves provide a comparative or interdisciplinary approach will be particularly welcome. Each conference will be self-contained, but the themes are inter-linked and we anticipate that many participants will want to attend and give papers at more than one of the conferences. This we would very much encouraged.
The language of the conference will be English but any prospective paper-giver wishing to give a paper in another language may consult with the organisers regarding possible support and translation services.
A limited number of conference places will be available to non-paper givers, with priority to be given those intending to give papers in another of the conferences in the series, and also those interested in acting as discussants at more than one of the conferences.
Some limited funding will be available mainly to assist participants from Central, East, and South-East European countries. Proposals for papers should specify if funding is required. The conference steering committee will do their utmost to assist, particularly in cases of doctoral students and scholars without an institutional affiliation.
First Conference
Social Democracy, Culture and Society: Historical Perspectives (London, Institute of Contemporary British History, Institute of Historical Research, University of London, 15-17 April 2004)
Though we hope that some paper-givers will provide a longer historical perspectives, the main focus of this conference is on the period from 1945 to the 1980s and 1990s, when post-war certainties were increasingly becoming fractured and undermined. In this period social democracy in western Europe succeeded in challenging conservative dominance and using government power to refashion both economy and society closer to social-democratic ideals. Although these ideals came increasingly under challenge from the 1970s, the period from 1945-80 can now be seen as the golden age, not of capitalism, but of social democracy.
The first conference will re-examine this golden age of social democracy from a variety of perspectives - ideological, organisational, cultural and social - with a view to raising issues and setting a context for the further conferences focusing on political economy and more contemporary developments. The steering committee also welcomes papers which view this proposition from a variety of critical perspectives.
Suggested themes:
- The social democratic party: party structures and membership, electoral strategy and electoral performance, forms of representation and participation.
- Social-democratic ideologies: the role of ideas and intellectuals in social democracy; theories of the state and democracy; social democracy as the progressive embodiment of science and technology.
- Social democracy and society: the re-making or reordering of society; the problem of equality; housing and welfare; the role of education; social liberalism and social authoritarianism.
- Social democratic identities: social democracy and class; social democracy and the labour movement; social democracy and gender; social democracy and productivism; the issue of national, ethnic and European identities.
- Social democracy and capitalism: understanding capitalism; affluence and consumerism; public and private forms of ownership and enterprise.
- Social democracy, the nation and internationalism: social democracy and the nation state; socialist internationalism; reconstruction, the Cold War, European integration; social democracy and empire; attempts at a social-democratic foreign policy.
- Social democracy and the politics of culture: science, learning, entertainment and the arts in a social-democratic society; the making of a social-democratic party culture.
- Social democracy and the trade union movement: the attitude of social democratic governments towards industrial conflict the relationship between trade union institutions and social democratic political parties; the attitude of trade union activists towards social democracy; the attitude of shop-floor 'rank-and-file' towards social democracy.
- Social democracy and its relations with other political movements: relationships and interactions with communism, Christian democracy, liberalism, the New Left and the right; the impact of the new social movements.
- Social democracy: rivals and alternatives: neo-liberalism, the Third Way, environmentalism, the New Left, co-operation and consumer movements. Effects on working class voters of challenge from neo-liberalism's challenge to 'social democratic consensus'.
- Living with social democracy: social, economic and cultural change under Social Democratic governments. Critical perspectives on the material benefits of post-war social democracy.
Plenary Sessions
Speakers include: Professor Stefano Bartolini, Professor Alain Bergounioux, Professor David Marquand, Dr. Ross McKibbin, Professor Thomas Meyer, Professor Donald Sassoon, Professor Duncan Tanner, Professor Giuseppe Vacca, Dr. Marcel van der Linden, Tony Wright MP.
We welcome preliminary offers of papers to the second and third conferences. Please send them by e-mail to Anne Morrow, conference administrator, anne.morrow@man.ac.uk.
Offers of papers to the first conference should be sent to the organisers by 10th September 2003. Please send them by e-mail to Anne Morrow, conference administrator, anne.morrow@man.ac.uk.
Proposals should include an abstract of c. 300 words (listing the paper's aims, research questions, whether it is new research, and sources) and a short CV with main relevant publications. The deadline for the papers, which should be c. 5000 words in length, will be 28 February 2004. This will allow for circulation in advance of the conference. Prospective participants can submit papers either as individuals or jointly, as proposed panels.
Publications
Selected papers will be published as an edited collection entitled Rethinking Social Democracy, and in featured issues of journals, including Socialist History, Soundings and the Journal of Southern Europe and the Balkans.
For further information please visit our website at www.new-politics.net/index.php?current-issues/social-democracy.