[CFP] Conference 2022 – Social Capital Working Group

12^th International Conference in Political Economy,
“Socio-Ecological Crisis and the Political Economy of Sustainability”
September 7-9, 2022 / University of Bologna, Italy

Call for Papers – Panel organised by Social Capital Working Group

THEME: Cooperation and Solidarity in Facing the Challenges of our Times:  
Great Recession, Climate Change, Pandemic, Violence and War

Asimina Christoforou, Panteion University, Greece
Luca Andriani, Birkbeck, University of London, UK

The 21^st century is marked by the global financial crisis and the Great Recession; the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic; the destruction of the environment and the problems of climate change; racial discrimination and violence; and threats of war. This has led to the rise in unemployment, poverty, inequality, and injustice in society, as a larger and larger share of the population are deprived of access to those resources that provide them with a substantive level of living and well-being, National governments and international organisations grappling with these issues introduce measures mainly in the form of regulations (e.g., social distancing and price controls) and financial aid to support countries’ systems of social and environmental protection. 

But are these measures enough? What else can society do to deal with these challenges? Cooperation and solidarity among social groups across the globe may be crucial in discussing these issues and suggesting solutions. Thus, we invite contributions that examine alternative ways to analyse social forces dynamics that these crises of the 21^st centuries have mobilized. We welcome topics that include, but are not limited to:

• building networks for social and environmental protection at the local, national, and supranational levels
• mobilising to raise social awareness about the socio-economic causes and consequences of the social and environmental crises
• envisioning and implementing alternative forms of research, governance, and social valuation founded on principles and practices of social participation and deliberation
• analysing the role of trust and informal institutions on institutional and economic changes,
• promoting active community involvement and bottom-up approaches in the formation of public policy
• introducing new forms of production and labour based on values of equality and democracy
• investigating the impact of civil society in questioning dominant views and practices in the economy and polity
• examining the role of the commons and commoning 

We also encourage contributions that generally address the topic of social capital. We welcome works that derive from various social science disciplines and use different units of analysis (individual, regional, country or cross-country level), methodologies and techniques (theoretical, empirical, qualitative and quantitative). Participants can submit individual papers or organise sessions.

Please submit your proposal by April 30, 2022.

To submit a proposal, please use the “Submit proposal” button at https://iippe.org/, and carefully follow the instructions. You will need to select “Social Capital” from the list to submit a proposal to our sessions. As usual, submissions may be made as (a) proposals for individual papers (which IIPPE will group into panels), (b) proposals for panels, (c) proposals for streams of panels, or (d) proposals on activism. 

For queries and suggestions, you may contact Asimina Christoforou, Coordinator of the Social Capital Working Group: a.christoforou@panteion.gr.