Power & Governance: Forms, Dynamics, Consequences

Tampere, Finland, 27–29 August 2018

Call for Papers

Power, domination, enforced cooperation, consent, and hegemony. Violence, threat of violence, scarcity, need, constrained interaction, charisma, and ritual. Structure, system, dispositif, institution, custom, fashion, habit, and drive. These are some of the words used to describe power and governance, i.e. patterned social interaction in which some actors are better off than others, and some paths for the future are opened while others closed. In the sixth biennial Power Conference we gather at the University of Tampere in August 2018 to probe whether something general can be said about the forms, dynamics and consequences of power. We study alternative ways to approach the issue and ask what kind of irreconcilable contradictions there are. We also seek ways to open and promote new and fruitful approaches in the field. Parallel, open sessions provide the possibility to discuss versatile topics, whereas plenary sessions with two keynote talks and a related special session with three or four papers are this time on the following topics: theorizing power relations, global governance, power and knowledge, and critique of power. 

The keynoters who also act as discussants in the special sessions are:

•    Amy Allen, Pennsylvania State University

•    Robin Celikates, University of Amsterdam

•    Gili Drori, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

•    Risto Kunelius, University of Tampere

•    Vivien A. Schmidt, Boston University

•    Peeter Selg, Tallinn University

•    Sylvia Walby, Lancaster University

For more information, please see the conference website

A special session of 3–4 papers follows each of the four thematic plenaries with the plenarists as discussants. We are delighted to invite you to submit abstracts for one of the special sessions, a parallel session, or as a general submission (list of sessions accepted thus far and reaching its final form on 15 January 2018 is available).

To submit a paper proposal, please send the title and abstract (100–200 words) through the conference management system by 30 March 2018 at the latest. Please select whether you want your paper to be included in one of the special sessions, one of the other accepted parallel sessions, or as a general submission. Contributors will be notified by 15 April 2018.

Organizer :

Risto Heiskala

Chair of the Organizing Committee

Institute for Advanced Social Research

University of Tampere, Finland

power.conference@uta.fi