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Dear all This is just a quick reminder of our call for papers for a panel on Financial Sector Power and Democracy at this year's RGS-IBG annual conference. The deadline for submissions is 12 February. We hope some of you will be interested in the topic. Best wishes, Ewa and Andreas Call for Papers: RGS-IBG Annual Conference 2020 (1-4 September, London) Financial Sector Power and Democracy Financial sector power has increased markedly since the 1980s. This observation is at the core of financialisation research. The phenomenon is often defined as the increased importance of “the role of financial motives, financial markets, financial actors and financial institutions” (Epstein 2005: 3). While growing financiers’ power is understood to undermine economic justice within the financialisation literature (for instance, through its contribution to rising inequality), there is less debate about the impact of financialisation on democracy. The large size, networked character and complexity of the financial sector undermine democratic control processes and outcomes, both based on instrumental and structural power (Nölke 2020). The increased complexity and opacity of financial instruments have hampered regulatory oversight and democratic scrutiny (Pacewicz 2013). The growing shadow banking industry is a fitting example (Bryan, Rafferty and Wigan 2016). Thus, these characteristics provide the financial sector in many societies with the ability to take direct influence on political and policy processes (Karwowski 2019a). The dynamics allowing financial actors to exercise influence and power differ depending on scale (national, regional or local), level of wealth (rich vs poor), and geography (global South vs global North) (Karwowski 2019b). Additionally, the sector’s discursive power can stifle criticism when it emerges, predetermining policy options for policymakers (Fuchs & Lederer 2007). While the resulting democratic deficit is neither new nor unique to financialisation, it has “been strengthened by the expansion of a finance-dominated accumulation” (Jessop 2013: 83). This panel aims at bringing together interdisciplinary research on financialisation with insights from economic geography and political science, analysing among other themes: * How financial actors exercise power in a democratic setting and their actions’ impact on democratic processes * The different dynamics in exercising financial sector power in rich versus poor economies, regions and local authorities together with their uneven outcomes * The types of power available to financiers and businesses under financialisation * The role of the state in enabling or curtailing financial sector power * How this role differs across different scales of government (national, regional, local) * Policy options for decreasing financial sector power * The scope for resistance against financial sector power by civil society * The scope for de-financialisation given the growth in financial sector power This panel session is organised by Prof Andreas Nölke (Goethe-Universität Frankfurt, [log in to unmask]) and Dr Ewa Karwowski (University of Hertfordshire, [log in to unmask]). If you are interested in participating in this session please send your abstract together with your name and institutional affiliation to Ewa Karwowski ([log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>) by Feb 12th 2020. The panel will be a paper presentation session, consisting of four-five papers. Fuchs, D. & M.L. Lederer, 2007. The Power of Business, Business & Politics, 9(3). Karwowski, E. 2019a. How Financialization Undermines Democracy, Development & Change, 50(5). Karwowski, E. 2019b. Towards (De-)Financialisation: The Role of the State, Cambridge Journal of Economics, 43(3). Nölke, A. 2020. Financialization and the crisis of democracy, van der Zwan, N, Mader, P. and D. Mertens (eds) The Routledge International Handbook of Financialization. Epstein, G. (ed) 2005. Financialization and the world economy. Cheltenham, UK; Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar. Jessop, B. 2013. Finance-dominated accumulation and post-democratic capitalism, Fadda, S. and P. Tridico (eds) Institutions and Economic Development after the Financial Crisis, London: Routledge. Pacewicz, J. 2012. Tax increment financing, economic development professionals and the financialization of urban politics, Socio-Economic Review, 11(3). Dr Ewa Karwowski Senior Lecturer in Economics Hertfordshire Business School University of Hertfordshire Phone: 01707 285559 Office M319 Latest articles: Karwowski, E., Shabani, M. and E. Stockhammer ‘Financialisation: Dimensions and Determinants. A Cross-Country Study’, New Political Economy, https://doi.org/10.1080/13563467.2019.1664446. Karwowski, E. (2019) ‘How Financialization Undermines Democracy’, Development & Change, 50(5). Karwowski, E. (2019) ‘Towards (De-)Financialisation: The Role of the State’, Cambridge Journal of Economics, 43(3). Blog: Finance Damages Democracy – and Brexit Will Make it Worse!<https://developingeconomics.org/2019/11/05/finance-damages-democracy-and-brexit-will-make-it-worse/> ***** This email came through the mailinglist of the Critical Political Economy Research Network of the European Sociological Association http://criticalpoliticaleconomy.net/ To post to the mailinglist or change settings: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/POLITICAL-ECONOMY-RN.html If replying, please do not reply to everybody. Similarly, please don't send everybody messages to the moderator. There is a confirmation-link function in operation to prevent this happening by mistake.