Please find below deatils of a series of conferences on Rethinking Social
Democracy.
please direct enquiries to the conference organisers (not me) listed below
Steve French
BUIRA COmmunications Secretary




CALL FOR PAPERS

Under the collective rubric Rethinking Social Democracy, a series of three
interdisciplinary and comparative conferences is being organised to explore
the past histories, present opportunities and future prospects of European
social democracy.

These international conferences are sponsored by a range of bodies
including the Institute of Contemporary British History, London; the Labour
Movements group of the Political Studies Association (PSA); the Fabian
Society, London; Manchester University International Centre for Labour
Studies; New Politics Network, London; the Gramsci Foundation, Rome; the
Office Universitaire de Recherché Socialiste (OURS), Paris; the Labour
Movement Archives and Library, Stockholm; the Swedish Institute of
Contemporary History, Sodertorns Hogskola, Sweden; Fundació CIDOB,
Barcelona; Fundación Alternativas, Madrid; Fundació Rafael Campalans,
Barcelona; the journals Soundings, Socialist History and The Journal of
Southern Europe and the Balkans; the publishers Lawrence & Wishart.

·London, 15/16/17 April 2004, Social Democracy, Culture and Society:
Historical Perspectives

·Swansea, Easter 2005, The Political Economy of Social Democracy: Past,
Present and Future

·Sheffield, Easter 2006, Post-industrial Societies and Social Democracy

Scope
The conferences seek to contribute to debates in progress across Europe and
beyond by re-evaluating the legacies of social-democracy and mapping out
its future prospects in view of the challenges of globalisation, the
decline or retrenchment of organised labour movements and the claimed
ideological hegemony of neo-liberalism. Drawing upon existing networks, the
project is conceived over a sustained period as helping to make connections
between academics, activists and political figures across national and
disciplinary boundaries.  It is the organisers’ belief that it is only on
an international scale, and making use of comparative methodologies, that
the past achievements and limitations of European social democracy can
properly be evaluated and its future world prospects clearly understood.
Starting from a European perspective, we are committed to examining
developments throughout the world, but particularly in places where social
democratic thought and movements have been influential in the past, and
also where there is clearly potential for future development.

The project steering committee gratefully acknowledges the financial
support of the Barry Amiel and Norman Melburn Trust and the administrative
assistance of the International Centre for Labour Studies, Manchester
University and the New Politics Network.

The conferences
Taking place over three days, each conference is intended to bring together
practitioners, (including academics, politicians, and trade unionists),
from a range of disciplines, including history, politics, economics,
sociology, industrial relations, cultural studies, and philosophy. As well
as including a range of different national and disciplinary perspectives,
papers which themselves provide a comparative or interdisciplinary approach
will be particularly welcome.  Each conference will be self-contained, but
the themes are inter-linked and we anticipate that many participants will
want to attend and give papers at more than one of the conferences.  This
we would very much encouraged.

The language of the conference will be English but any prospective paper-
giver wishing to give a paper in another language may consult with the
organisers regarding possible support and translation services.

A limited number of conference places will be available to non-paper
givers, with priority to be given those intending to give papers in another
of the conferences in the series, and also those interested in acting as
discussants at more than one of the conferences.

Some limited funding will be available mainly to assist participants from
Central, East, and South-East European countries. Proposals for papers
should specify if funding is required.  The conference steering committee
will do their utmost to assist, particularly in cases of doctoral students
and scholars without an institutional affiliation.

First Conference
Social Democracy, Culture and Society: Historical Perspectives (London,
Institute of Contemporary British History, Institute of Historical
Research, University of London, 15-17 April
2004)

Though we hope that some paper-givers will provide a longer historical
perspectives, the main focus of this conference is on the period from 1945
to the 1980s and 1990s, when post-war certainties were increasingly
becoming fractured and undermined. In this period social democracy in
western Europe succeeded in challenging conservative dominance and using
government power to refashion both economy and society closer to social-
democratic ideals. Although these ideals came increasingly under challenge
from the 1970s, the period from 1945-80 can now be seen as the golden age,
not of capitalism, but of social democracy.

The first conference will re-examine this golden age of social democracy
from a variety of perspectives – ideological, organisational, cultural and
social – with a view to raising issues and setting a context for the
further conferences focusing on political economy and more contemporary
developments.  The steering committee also welcomes papers which view this
proposition from a variety of critical perspectives.

Suggested themes:

·The social democratic party: party structures and membership, electoral
strategy and electoral performance, forms of representation and
participation.

·Social-democratic ideologies: the role of ideas and intellectuals in
social democracy; theories of the state and democracy; social democracy as
the progressive embodiment of science and technology.

·Social democracy and society: the re-making or reordering of society; the
problem of equality; housing and welfare; the role of education; social
liberalism  and social authoritarianism.

·Social democratic identities: social democracy and class; social democracy
and the labour movement; social democracy and gender; social democracy and
productivism; the issue of national, ethnic and European identities.

·Social democracy and capitalism: understanding capitalism; affluence and
consumerism; public and private forms of ownership and enterprise.

·Social democracy, the nation and internationalism: social democracy and
the nation state; socialist internationalism; reconstruction, the Cold War,
European integration; social democracy and empire; attempts at a social-
democratic foreign policy.

·Social democracy and the politics of culture: science, learning,
entertainment and the arts in a social-democratic society; the making of a
social-democratic party culture.

·Social democracy and the trade union movement: the attitude of social
democratic governments towards industrial conflict the relationship between
trade union institutions and social democratic political parties; the
attitude of trade union activists towards social democracy; the attitude of
shop-floor ‘rank-and-file’ towards social democracy.

·Social democracy and its relations with other political movements:
relationships and interactions with communism, Christian democracy,
liberalism, the New Left and the right; the impact of the new social
movements.

·Social democracy: rivals and alternatives: neo-liberalism, the Third Way,
environmentalism, the New Left, co-operation and consumer movements.
Effects on working class voters of challenge from neo-liberalism’s
challenge to ‘social democratic consensus’.

·Living with social democracy: social, economic and cultural change under
Social Democratic governments. Critical perspectives on the material
benefits of post-war social democracy.

Plenary Sessions
Speakers include: Professor Stefano Bartolini, Professor Alain Bergounioux,
Professor David Marquand, Dr. Ross McKibbin, Professor Thomas Meyer,
Professor Donald Sassoon, Professor Duncan Tanner, Professor Giuseppe
Vacca, Dr. Marcel van der Linden, Tony Wright MP.

We welcome preliminary offers of papers to the second and third
conferences.  Please send them by e-mail to Anne Morrow, conference
administrator, [log in to unmask]

Offers of papers to the first conference should be sent to the organisers
by 10th September 2003.  Please send them by e-mail to Anne Morrow,
conference administrator, [log in to unmask]
Proposals should include an abstract of c. 300 words (listing the paper’s
aims, research questions, whether it is new research, and sources) and a
short CV with main relevant publications. The deadline for the papers,
which should be c. 5000 words in length, will be 28 February 2004. This
will allow for circulation in advance of the conference.  Prospective
participants can submit papers either as individuals or jointly, as
proposed panels.

Publications
Selected papers will be published as an edited collection entitled
Rethinking Social Democracy, and in featured issues of journals, including
Socialist History, Soundings and the Journal of Southern Europe and the
Balkans.

Steering Committee/Partners
The project brings together in partnership established networks based on
the Institute of Contemporary British History, London; the Labour Movements
group of the Political Studies Association (PSA); the Fabian Society,
London; Manchester University International Centre for Labour Studies; New
Politics Network, London; the Gramsci Foundation, Rome; the Office
Universitaire de Recherché Socialiste (OURS), Paris; the Labour Movement
Archives and Library, Stockholm; the Swedish Institute of Contemporary
History, Sodertorns Hogskola, Sweden; Fundació CIDOB, Barcelona; Fundación
Alternativas, Madrid; Fundació Rafael Campalans, Barcelona; the journals
Soundings, Socialist History and The Journal of Southern Europe and the
Balkans; the publishers Lawrence & Wishart.

The project STEERING COMMITTEE includes Dr. Geoff Andrews, Professor Stefan
Berger, Professor John Callaghan, Sally Davidson, Dr. Ilaria Favretto, Dr.
Nina Fishman, Dr. Andrew Flinn, Dr. Harriet Jones, Benjamin Linsley, Dr.
Steve Ludlam, Dr. Kevin Morgan, Professor Noel Thompson, Dr. Willie
Thompson, Professor Andrew Thorpe, and Professor Chris Williams.
Geoff Andrews teaches at the Open University and is on the editorial
advisory board of the journal Soundings; Stefan Berger is professor of
history at the University of Glamorgan; John Callaghan is professor of
politics at the University of Wolverhampton; Sally Davidson is the
editorial director of Lawrence & Wishart; Ilaria Favretto is a senior
research fellow at Kingston University; Andrew Flinn teaches at University
College London and is a free-lance researcher; Benjamin Linsley is
communications director at New Politics Network; Steve Ludlam is chair of
the PSA Labour Movements Group and senior lecturer in politics at the
University of Sheffield; Kevin Morgan teaches politics at Manchester
University and edits Socialist History, Noel Thompson is professor of
History at the University of Swansea; Willie Thompson is secretary of the
Socialist History Society; Andrew Thorpe is professor of history at the
University of Exeter, Chris Williams is professor of Welsh history at the
University of Glamorgan.

The INTERNATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD includes Professor Stefano Bartolini,
European University Institute, Florence; Professor Alain Bergounioux, the
Office Universitaire de Recherché Socialiste (OURS), Paris; Dr. Paolo
Borioni, Gramsci Foundation, Rome; Professor Brian Brivati, Kingston
University, London; Professor Antoni Castells, Universitat de Barcelona,
Frederic Cepede, the Office Universitaire de Recherché Socialiste (OURS),
Paris; Peter Facey, director of New Politics Network, London; Professor
Marcello Flores, University of Siena; Professor Mark Lazar, Institut
d'Études Politiques de Paris, CERI; Michael Jacobs, secretary of the Fabian
Society, London; Dr. Philippe Marliere, University College London;
Professor Kjell Östsberg, Swedish Institute of Contemporary History;
Professor Silvio Pons, Director, the Gramsci Foundation, Rome; Rocio
Martinez- Sampere, Fundacio CIDOB, Barcelona; Professor Thomas Meyer,
University of Dortmund; Professor Klaus Misgeld, The Labour Movement
Archives and Library, Stockholm; Professor Donald Sassoon, Queen Mary and
Westfield College, London; Professor Giuseppe Vacca, Chair of the Gramsci
Foundation, Rome.
For further information please contact:
Anne Morrow, International Centre for Labour Studies, Manchester University
(Re-thinking Social Democracy project administrator).  00-44-161-275-4794.
[log in to unmask]

Jana Tillotson, (administrator for 2004 conference). New Politics Network,
6 Cynthia Street, London N1 9JF. 0044-207-278-4443.
[log in to unmask]

John Callaghan
Department of Politics, University of Wolverhampton, 00-44-1902-321000;
[log in to unmask]

Ilaria Favretto, European Research Centre, Faculty of Arts and Social
Sciences, Kingston University, Penrhyn Road, Surrey KT1 2EE UK. 0044-20 8
547 2000 (ext. 63251);
[log in to unmask]

Nina Fishman
School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Languages, University of
Westminster, 309 Regent Street, London W1B 2UW; 00-44-207-911-5000 ext.
2086;
[log in to unmask]

Kevin Morgan
Department of Government, University of Manchester M13 9PL UK.  00-44-161-
275-4907; [log in to unmask]

Alternatively please visit our website at http://www.new-politics.net