Call for Papers Politics Beyond the State:Transformations of the State between De- and Repoliticization

There is a pervasive trend towards the denationalization of political authority in advanced industrial societies. Government is no longer the exclusive business of the state but involves an increasing range of international institutions and private agents. Some argue that these changes go hand in hand with processes of depoliticization – a transfer of political decision-making authority into presumably non-political arenas such as markets, courts, or expert networks. Yet others point to instances of a repoliticization such as the emergence of new protest movements on the one hand and corporate social responsibility structures on the other. These diverging perspectives indicate a lack of systematic research on the impact of institutional and policy transformations on the politics of the postnational constellation: Does the emergence of governance beyond the state give rise to politics beyond the state? Does it lead to a politicization of international institutions and private activities? The TranState Research Center will host a conference on these questions.

We invite papers dealing with the politics of international and/or private authority from a conceptual, theoretical, empirical or normative perspective. Does the transfer of political authority to the international level and to private actors imply a (re-) politicization of the international or economic sphere? How does the gradual internationalization of traditionally national political issues affect the state? Is there evidence for a depoliticization trend of national politics? Which policy areas have been most depoliticized and why? What are the mechanisms leading to a politicization or depoliticization of certain issues? Which normative perspectives on de- or repoliticization are currently discussed?

We are interested in papers from a variety of disciplines – e.g. political science, law, economics, and sociology – and from both emerging and established scholars. The range of possible topics includes, but is not limited to, the following:

The concept of politicization – useful category or empty phrase? To what extent is politicization a new concept?

Empirical studies, e.g. on depoliticization in the wake of processes of privatization, internationalization, bureaucratization, marketization, judicialization, professionalization (‘expertocracy’), and increasing complexity of politics, or on the repoliticization of ‘non-political’ areas via new social movements, emotionalization and political scandals.

Theoretical explanations of de- or repoliticization processes in the context of state transformations or the supranationalization of international institutions, and explorations of underlying causal mechanisms.

The normative dimension of de-/repoliticization: Are we suffering from too little or too much politics ? Do we need processes of repoliticization in order to prevent or solve a ‘democratic deficit’ of the postnational constellation? Or do depoliticized arrangements increase democratic quality by facilitating deliberation?

Paper proposals must be submitted electronically by January 11, 2010 to conference2010@sfb597.uni-bremen.de. Proposals should include the author’s name and full contact information, and an abstract of no more than 250 words. Contributions will be selected according to quality but also with a view to forming thematic sessions. Successful applicants will be notified by 31 January, 2010. Paper contributors will be expected to provide full paper drafts suitable for publication. Publication of selected papers is under consideration, either in the form of journal symposia or an edited volume.

Organizers: Rike Krämer, Martin Nonhoff, Tanja Pritzlaff, Henning Schmidtke

Contact: conference2010@sfb597-bremen.de

http://www.sfb597.uni-bremen.de/pages/aktTermine2010TagungPoliticization.php