@ 10th ESPAnet Italy Conference at the University of Bologna, Campus of Forlì
21-23 September 2017
http://www.espanet-italia.net/?page_id=1203
Call for abstracts. Deadline: May 31, 2017
Session 8
GROUP MOBILIZATION AND POLICY CHANGE. INTERESTS & IDEAS, CONFLICTS & COALITIONS BEHIND WELFARE REFORMS
Chair: Matteo Jessoula (Univeristy of Milan & ESPN), Marcello Natili (University of Milan)
Social policies constitute endless battlefields among different interests groups which identify problems, propose solutions, aggregate citizens' welfare preferences, mobilize voters, channel demands to elected officials, provide information about government action to their members as well as to the broader public, also often contributing to policy implementation. In a nutshell, interest groups permanently condition the social policy-making process (Bentley 1908; Baughmartner and Leech 1998). Furthermore, interest groups may form alliances and coalitions which have been considered crucial for the introduction, the development or the failure of social policy reforms and programs (Afonso 2012; Häusermann, 2010; Palier and Thelen 2010; Thelen 2014).
Yet, recently, a focus on electoral constituencies and competition for votes (Pierson 2015) as well as on the role of supranational actors in shaping social policy reforms made interest groups’ preferences and strategies a relatively less studied area within the comparative welfare state literature. Moreover, while the political science literature on pension and employment policy has frequently emphasized the crucial role of social partners (Jessoula 2011, Natali 2014), the role of group-party relationships in other social policy areas remains largely under-theorized (Natili, 2016). In particular, we know little about social actors actively involved in other policy fields such as child- and elderly-care, housing, minimum income protection, reconciliation policies, etc. where different interest groups – NGOs, faith-based associations, private providers - may have a prominent role in campaigning, planning and/or implementing social policy programs.
Against such backdrop, this session welcomes papers analyzing – theoretically or empirically - the role of interest groups in social policy-making. Papers presenting both comparative analyses – covering more than one country and/or policy sector - and case studies addressing the following questions are welcome:
* What is the role played by different social actors (trade unions, employers’ associations, religious organizations and associations) and stakeholders (poverty lobbies, formally and/or informally organized beneficiaries) in social - i.e. pensions, labor market, healthcare, housing, family and/or social assistance policy – policy-making process?
* What was the political reaction of relevant interest groups to the recent economic, financial and debt crises? Did the crisis change their political preferences and/or the possibility to influence the policy-making process?
* How do members’ interests, organizational resources, “ideas” and/or “identities” affect the political preferences and strategies of interest groups?
* How do party systems shape interest groups’ preferences and structure their possibility to access to the policy-making process?
* When do interest groups fight against each other, or rather coalesce?
* How did “coalitional support” towards specific welfare state configurations have changed through time? Are new coalitions of interest groups emerging? What are the coalitional underpinnings of reform adoption, or rather policy inertia?
The session will be held in English.
To submit a paper proposal, authors are requested to fill out a specific form: http://www.espanet-italia.net/?page_id=1503.
For further information, please feel free to contact the Conference Organizing Committee: [log in to unmask]
The paper proposal should be a 500-800 word abstract, which is expected to:
*synthesize the main issue or research question the paper will deal with;
*indicate the major working hypotheses underlying the research, including adopted methodology and related sources of information; and
*illustrate the most relevant findings as well as the research contribution to current literature.
In line with previous Espanet conference editions, session coordinators will accept no more than 4 papers and organize a paper session assuring:
*a comparative approach to social policy analysis, both within the country and at the international level;
*an inter- and multi-disciplinary approach to social policy analysis;
* the advancement of knowledge with respect to the evolution of social problems and policies; and
* collaborative exchanges among scholars, researchers, and pratictioners.
Selection process
The deadline for submitting an abstract is May 31, 2017.
Submissions need to follow the guidelines listed in the form "Send the Abstract".
The Organizing Committee will forward all received abstracts to session coordinators.
Session coordinators will classify abstracts as follows:
*accepted: the paper will be presented and discussed at the conference;
*accepted as an online contribution: the paper will be posted on the Espanet conference website, but it will not be presented within the related session but in case of absence of a panelist;
*not accepted.
Authors will receive the notice on the acceptance/refusal of their abstracts through email by the Organizing Committee on June 12, 2017.
Authors of accepted abstracts need to send their complete papers by August 28, 2017 directly to session coordinators, and in cc to [log in to unmask] as well.
Organizers and contact persons:
Matteo Jessoula - [log in to unmask]
Dipartimento di Scienze Sociali e Politiche - Università degli Studi di Milano
Via Conservatorio 7, Milano - Phone: (+39) 02 50321037
Marcello Natili - [log in to unmask]
Dipartimento di Scienze Sociali e Politiche - Università degli Studi di Milano
Via Conservatorio 7, Milano
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