[ecrea] CALL FOR PAPERS - Radical Left Wing Movements in the Baltic Sea Region and Eastern Europe

CALL FOR PAPERS


Radical Left Wing Movements in the Baltic Sea Region and Eastern Europe

Research Conference 24–26 January 2014
Södertörn University, Stockholm, Sweden


The aim of this conference is to contribute to research on radical left 
wing movements in the Baltic region and Eastern Europe, by establishing 
contact between researchers studying these movements/activist 
environments. Sociologists, historians, political scientists, 
anthropologists, and scholars within other relevant academic disciplines 
with an interest in the field are invited to submit papers of original 
research.


Theme and Rationale

During recent decades, scholarly attention has been given to differences 
between the civil societies of Eastern and Western Europe, and the 
social movements and political protest cultures characterizing these 
regions. More recently, scholars have focused on the political impact 
and role of radical leftist parties in Europe, both in newly 
democratized post-communist political systems and in more established 
liberal-democratic regimes. However, the corresponding political role 
and impact of the radical left’s extra-parliamentarian part – or its 
social movement base – in these regions has hitherto not been 
sufficiently analyzed. Filling this gap is the aim of this conference.

In social movement research, it has often been noted that radical 
leftist groups have played a prominent role for the broader left 
(including the Labor movement) and the new social movements of Western 
democracies since the late 1960s; often appearing as the “radical flank” 
of the broader left. While many of the radical left wing groups that 
gained importance after “sixty-eight” were foremost Leninist and Maoist. 
Since the late 1980s groups rooted in the left-libertarian political 
traditions of Anarchism and Autonomism, and to a certain extent 
Trotskyite groups, have gained importance. Albeit being a sometimes 
marginal political phenomenon, the ideas, strategies and forms of 
protests of these radical groups often times – directly or indirectly – 
influenced the agendas and action repertoires of more established 
organizations, e.g. political parties and trade unions. Notably since 
the 1990s, anarchist and autonomist activism has been seen in 
anti-fascist mobilizations, “street parties”, squatting and during the 
protests of the Global Justice Movement and “Occupy” of recent years. 
Similarly in the newly democratized Eastern European countries, these 
groups have – especially since the fall of the Berlin wall – been 
increasingly visible, in spite of the seeming greater hostility towards 
Marxist and Communist ideological traditions in these countries.

In the light of these transformations of the radical left in both 
Western and Eastern European countries, it seems necessary to scrutinize 
the relation between the changing role of these political actors and 
more general shifts (or continuities) in these societies, in politics, 
economy, social relations, and cultural patterns.

We especially invite scholars focusing on:

• The political role of radical left groups: their interplay with new 
social movements and more institutionalized actors on the left (such as 
political parties and trade unions), as well as their direct or indirect 
impact on general public debate, agenda setting and decision-making 
(including the state’s use of counter-measures against these groups).

• The impact of differences in Political Opportunity Structures, 
national historical experiences, and protest cultures between countries 
and regions on the development of the radical left in these countries.

• The role of specific ideas of democracy and political change for 
radical left groups’ and activists’ political visions/goals as well as 
movement-internal practices/repertoires of action.

• The uses of culture and media in radical left groups, including the 
impact of/on subcultures, music, alternative media, social media, etc.

• The social movement organizations, networks and activists of the 
radical left in the countries of the Baltic region (i.e., the countries 
bordering the Baltic Sea), but also more broadly in the countries of 
Eastern Europe and Scandinavia.

• The radical left in contemporary perspective, and/or with a focus on 
the developments of this political context during the last decades 
(especially since the decisive years of 1968 and 1989).

In particular we invite scholars doing comparative research on these 
matters, or those who are willing to engage in a comparative discussion 
with scholars focusing on the same phenomena in other countries.

We also invite scholars to add other relevant research areas.


Conference Format

We expect that around 16 papers will be presented at the conference. The 
conference format will be joint sessions to encourage joint discussions 
amongst all participants.

We invite scholars to submit their abstracts by the 27th of August 2013 
(final deadline). The abstract should be 1–2 pages, and describe the 
research question, main theories used (with reference to the relevant 
literature), and the empirical base of the paper. Applicants should 
provide information about their general research interests within this 
field, as well as relevant earlier publications. Accepted papers must be 
submitted at least 3 weeks before the conference (deadline: 3rd of 
January 2014). Each presenter is expected to comment on another 
participants’ papers. Conference organizers will inform participants of 
which paper they will be commenting on in advance.

We also expect to have some capacity for attendees. Attending the 
conference is free, but as a result of limited capacity we require 
registration of interest by the 25th of October 2013. Apply by sending a 
short description of your research interests and your earlier research 
within the field. Attendees are also encouraged to actively take part in 
the discussion.


Keynote speakers

Donatella della Porta (professor of political science, European 
University Institute, Florence, Italy), a distinguished international 
scholar within the field of social movement studies who has written 
extensively on social movements and their interplay with political 
actors and systems, protest policing, etc.

Luke March (PhD in Russian and East European Studies, and Deputy 
Director of the Princess Dashkova Russia Centre, University of 
Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom), an international scholar who in 
2011 published a book with Routledge on radical left parties in Europe, 
and is active in the research fields of Post-Soviet politics, radical 
left parties and populism.


Costs

Presenters of papers and attendees can attend the conference for free. 
All those presenting paper from outside the Stockholm region will also 
be reimbursed for travel and accommodation expenses.


The organizers

The conference organizers – Magnus Wennerhag, Christian Fröhlich, 
Grzegorz Piotrowski and Adrienne Sörbom – are part of the research 
project “Anarchists in Eastern and Western Europe – a Comparative 
Study”. The project is based at Södertörn University and funded by The 
Foundation for Baltic and East European Studies, Sweden. For more 
information about this research project, see http://bit.ly/10Eacjc

The conference is funded by the Centre for Baltic and East European 
Studies (CBEES), the multidisciplinary research centre focusing on the 
Baltic Sea region and Eastern Europe at Södertörn University.


Output

Our aim is to publish a collection of the conference papers in an edited 
volume in English and/or a special issue of an international 
peer-reviewed journal.


Contact information

For general questions about the conference, and for applying and sending 
in paper abstracts, contact (radical_left_conference2014 /at/ sh.se)

In case of the need of visas for paper presenters and attendees, we can 
assist with invitation letters.


Important Dates

27 August 2013: Abstract submission

1 October 2013: Notification of paper acceptance

3 January 2014: Submission of a final paper


WELCOME!


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