International Conference
Berlin, 15—16 June 2012
Organized by Friedrich-Ebert Foundation and International Conference of Labour and Social History (ITH)
CALL FOR PAPERS
At regular intervals, capitalism is shaken by crises. Consequently, it seems
natural to relate them to each other and to provide them with a historical
dimension. Also the present economic and financial crisis has been related
to past crises of the 20th century in numerous respects. The past can provide
us with a valuable interpretative framework because our experience of crises
and our expectation horizons have become embedded in our collective memory.
Assessment of present-day developments in the light of past experience may
produce common structural characteristics, while at the same time entailing
a risk of leading us astray in our interpretation of contemporary phenomena.
There is a real danger of constructing path determinants which do not really
exist, and of establishing continuities where discontinuity is the reality,
all of which may lead to plausible but invalid conclusions about ways in
which present-day crises could or should be handled.
The purpose of the conference planned is to historicize those spaces of
experience and expectation horizons which result from the interpretation
of past crises and which are used to interpret present-day phenomena. Special
attention should be paid to the political relevance and declining effectiveness
and clout of workers’ organizations in Europe and the USA. The crisis
periods which are often denominated by catchwords like The ‘Great
Crash’ of 1929, the Oil Crisis and the ‘Structural Break’
of 1973/74 and the present economic and financial market crisis of 2008
and the following years should serve as points of reference.
Economic crises in a global context have contributed to radical structural
change, and have always had an impact on workers’ living conditions.
The Depression after 1929 prepared the ground for authoritarian crisis management
strategies at the end of which one outcome was the Nazi seizure of power
in Germany. As a result of the crisis in the 1970s, there was a slow-down
in post-Fordist transition of industry which was reflected in progressing
‘tertiarization’ of society as well as in a shift of societal
models allowing neo-liberal patterns of interpretation to assert themselves.
It is not yet possible to make a final assessment of the status and impacts
of the economic and financial crisis of 2008sqq., however we may expect
it to change working and production regimes in Europe and North America
profoundly. Similarly, those bodies which represent workers’ interests
will be severely affected.
More than anything, diachronic comparative studies of workers’ interests
in times of crisis constitute a desideratum. Therefore, in addition to conference
papers concentrating on a single period, contributions discussing at least
two crisis periods are of special interest. In this way it will be possible
to fathom which types of experience and interpretations relating to one
crisis have also become active in perceptions of other crises.
The following topics present themselves for further
analysis:
• Crisis perception, crisis discourse, crisis
atmosphere: Who defines when a crisis is on? How does semantics change
and what control over interpretation is exercised by different players?
• Crisis and society: What is the relationship
between developmental optimism and a crisis atmosphere? To what extent is
it possible to see, in particular, the 1970s as a caesura? To what extent
did crisis scenarios with corresponding ‘reform’ discourse become
a regularly occurring phenomenon? How do crises impact on different social
strata? Is it possible to discern gender specific differences concerning
the effects of any crisis?
• Structural options, strategies and crisis
management: How do various groups of players (trade unions, political
parties, employers, but also governments, media, social movements, expert
bodies, rating agencies) react to crises? What observations can be made
at trans-national, national, and regional levels?
• Conflict and consensus – the welfare
state in crisis: What status can be attributed to adversarial versus
corporatist behaviour in social partnership strategies for overcoming a
crisis on the part of trade unions and employers’ associations?
• Mobilization during a crisis: What
types of interaction exist between the direct effects of a crisis such as
unemployment, political responses, for instance the so-called roll-back
of social insurance, and the development in trade union enrolment? How does
such a development impact on trade union organizational power, negotiation
strength and interpretative control?
• Crises as systemically inherent or as an ideological
instrument: Are crises an inherent and necessary component in the
systemic dynamics of capitalism or do they chiefly serve as intimidation
scenarios for the implementation of authoritarian or neo-liberal policies
to cut back the welfare-state achievements?
• Production regime and crisis: In which
ways do crises spark a change in production regimes (the rise and transformation
of Fordism, computerization and the emergence of the network society, rationalization
and automation)?
• Transformation of work regimes in times of
crisis: To what extent is it possible for political forces to guide
and manoeuvre the economy in times of crisis?
In terms of concepts and methods, contributions should be firmly founded
in social and economic history while being open to the approaches of modern
cultural history. Seen from this perspective, papers should be source-based
and should use an interdisciplinary and scholarly approach to the crises
of 1929, 1973/74, and 2008sqq.
The conference will be held at the Friedrich-Ebert Foundation in Berlin.
The languages of the conference are English and German. Proposals for papers
must be submitted not later than 15 March 2012
at Johannes Platz. Papers should not exceed 3,000 characters.
Conference chair and organizers:
Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung
Archiv der sozialen Demokratie
Referat „Public History“
Projekt „Jüngere und jüngste Gewerkschaftsgeschichte“
Dr. des. Johannes Platz
Godesberger Allee 149
53175 Bonn
Tel. +49 228 883-8072
Fax + 49 228 883-9204
E-Mail: Johannes.Platz@fes.de
Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung
Archiv der sozialen Demokratie
Referat „Public History“
Dr. Meik Woyke
Godesberger Allee 149
53175 Bonn
Tel. +49 228 883-8068
Fax +49 228 883-9209
E-Mail: Meik.Woyke@fes.de
International Conference of Labour and Social History (ITH)
Univ. Doz. Dr. Berthold Unfried
Wipplingerstraße 6-8
A-1010 Wien
Tel. +43 1 22 89 469-316
Fax +43 1 22 89 469-391
E-Mail: berthold.unfried@univie.ac.at