Abstract submission for the XX ISA World Congress of Sociology is open until 30 September 2022.
The congress will be held at Melbourne from 25 June to 1 July 2023.
I’m organizing three sessions for this congress and invite everybody to subit abstracts to thesse sessions. One is about
Democratic Participation and Self-Management vs Authoritarianism: Theoretical Reflections and Propositions
RC10 scholarship has traditionally sought to counter authoritarianism by advocating sustained participation. It has emphasised the development of democratic participation in diverse forums of political, economic, and social interaction. Those debates trace their origin to movements for democratic inclusion of all in the political and social life of their communities and workplaces. That included trade union organization, collective negotiation, self-organized cooperatives, and co-management of decisions, as well as participation in civic, community, and neighbourhood decision-making. The postwar achievements of a more politicized working class, gained through the organization of labour interests in trade unions and political parties, extended confidence for a further widening of democracy in the economic sphere. Concerted political demand generated institutional developments toward industrial and organizational democracy in various forms across many countries. The success of those democratic movements was met by the insurgence of neoliberalism in the latter 20th century and its socio-economic effects and inequalities.
The current rise of authoritarianism in many guises is enabled by an erosion of democratic institutions of participation at the workplace and in the political field. However current crises of public discontent also present opportunities for democratic revitalisation. The societal task of the constraint of tendencies of domination, conflict, and systemic exploitation requires the effort of democratic renewal and socio-cultural innovation.
This session calls for theoretical reflections and propositions on the resources of democratic participation, industrial democracy and self-management to counter authoritarianism by the revitalisation of democratic conceptions and practices at the workplace and/or in the political arena.
RC10 Participation, Organizational Democracy and Self-Management (host committee)
Language: English, French and Spanish
Session Type: Oral
Session Organizers:
- Catherine Casey, Loughborough University, United Kingdom
- Isabel da Costa, CNRS, France
- Stefan Lücking, Hans-Böckler-Stiftung, Germany
La Fondazione Hans Böckler è un’istituzione particolare, strettamente legata al modello tedesco di co-determinazione, sia in termini di mandato che di struttura e metodi di lavoro, che di finanziamento. Mitbestimmung di solito tradotto «co-determinazione» è un termine difficile da tradurre. Si riferisce sia ai diritti di partecipazione democratica dei lavoratori sanciti dalle leggi sulla co-determinazione e dalla legge sulla costituzione delle opere, sia alla co-determinazione come principio democratico di formazione della società: ognuno dovrebbe essere coinvolto nelle decisioni che lo riguardano. La Fondazione Hans Böckler conduce quindi una ricerca sindacale con l’obiettivo di democratizzare il mondo del lavoro e la società.