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Regular version of the site
International workshop

The Varieties of Power in the Economy

Laboratory for Studies in Economic Sociology, National Research University “Higher School of Economics” (NRU HSE), Moscow, Russia

Sociologists tend to see power as a “salient” dimension in economic action (Smelser, Swedberg 2005: 5). The salience of power as a phenomenon makes it one of the more difficult notions for economic sociologists to be incorporated in various conceptual frameworks, especially when explaining how contemporary markets work. Meanwhile, the economies around the world are changing. The dispersion of power practices (in M. Foucault's terms) has grown as the state and large corporate structures have been increasingly delegating more of their rights and responsibilities to various autonomous social entities and technical devices. The visibility of power for both market participants and their researchers diminishes as many forms of dominance and control disappear, while the number of authorities and governance structures in the economy multiplies.

In order to make power practices visible with the help of economic and sociological tools, it is necessary to pay closer attention to different sources of economic power based on resource dependence, on legitimacy, on establishing control over the current agenda and key ideas (Granovetter 2017), and also to better understand the motives for compliance of different actors. At the workshop, we are interested in exploring the relationship between different modes of influence (public and private, global and local, formal and informal); the conditions that create gaps, coincidences and other relations  between the legality and legitimacy; as well as the alternative mechanisms for establishing control over market processes in the context of capitalist dynamics. We also encourage research of power practices coming from a variety of economic spheres, both more historically established (households, rural economy, natural resources economy) and the new, cutting edge areas (digital platforms, transnational supply chains, etc.).

Status of the workshop

The workshop is held by the Laboratory of Studies in Economic Sociology (LSES) at National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow. Our goal is to help building and promoting new approaches in economic sociology, and to expand the Laboratory’s international research networks.

At the end of the workshop some participants will be offered an opportunity to publish their papers in an edited collective volume which will be a part to the “Societies and Political Orders in Transition” series supported by Springer Publishing House in 2020–2021. Additionally, some papers may be published within the LSES working paper series “Sociology of Markets.”

We also hope that the workshop will inspire participants to join a network of associated research fellows with the Laboratory for Studies in Economic Sociology at HSE, Moscow.

Working language

The Workshop’s working languages are Russian and English.

Workshop venue

National Research University “Higher School of Economics”, room 518, 11 Myasnitskaya str., Moscow, Russia

Keynote Speakers

Alena Ledeneva, Professor of Politics and Society at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University College London, UK  

Valery Yackubovich,Professor at Management Department, SSEC Business School, France

Program Committee

Vadim Radaev (Chair), NRU HSE

Andrey Shevchuk, NRU HSE

Elena Berdysheva, NRU HSE

Zoya Kotelnikova, NRU HSE

Local Organizing Committee (LOC)

Zoya Kotelnikova, NRU HSE

Marina Chernyshova, NRU HSE

Ekaterina Vorobeva, NRU HSE

Information Support

Juliya Belova, NRU HSE

Submission guidelines

We accept original research papers which has not been previously published

To apply, please submit long abstracts (800–1000 words), in Russian or English, through our online submission system by 15th of February, 2020.

Full drafts of the paper are accepted in English only. The deadline to submit full draft of the paper to the same online system is June 15, 2020. The word limit for the paper is between 6000 and 12000 words. Papers should be original and should not contain substantial elements of material that has been published elsewhere. Papers are supposed to meet all the standard requirements of an academic publication. Papers will be available to all the Workshop participants.

Important deadlines

15 February 2020 – deadline for submitting long abstracts

1 March 2020 – we will notify you of the selection results

1 March 2020 – 1 July 2020 - deadline for audience members

Until 30 April 2020 – participants whose papers were accepted, will be offered an opportunity to participate in a series of writing seminars where the drafts can be discussed and improved in a friendly collegial atmosphere

15 June 2020 – deadline for drafts submission 

1 October 2020 – deadline for submitting the revised papers for blind review process and eventual publication

Selection of participants

Participants are selected on the basis of the submitted long abstracts.

Oral presentations

Each participant should present his or her paper and be a discussant.

Each participant will have 10 minutes for oral presentation.

Each session is divided into several parts which include:

- oral presentation 1 (10 minutes)

- oral presentation 2 (10 minutes)

- discussant’s comments (10 minutes)

- general audience participation (20 minutes)

Each block of two papers is followed by a discussant's comments and the general audience participation.

Publications

All the selected papers will be considered for publication in the collective monography in English or in LSES’s working papers in Russian. The LOC is responsible for submitting the proposal to the Springer Publishing House.

Registration and fees

The Workshop does not charge the participants any fees.

All program participants must register by April 30, 2020, to retain their listings in the Final Program.

You may request a visa invitation letter from the LOC. Visa invitation letters cannot be provided until you have registered for the Workshop.

All participants will be provided with workshop materials, coffee breaks, and meals.


Contacts

Workshop’s website: https://ecsoclab.hse.ru/ecsocworkshop/

If you have any questions, please contact Marina Chernyshova ecsoclab@hse.ru