Call for Papers - Nation, Neoliberalism & Class Politics

As part of the annual International Initiative for promoting Political Economy conference Conter is organising two panels, ‘Populism, Sovereignty and Class Politics’ and ‘Class, nation, and the breakup of Britain’. To submit your abstract of up to 200 words, please visit the IIPE website.

The deadline for proposals is 15 May 2021. All other deadline dates are stated in the Electronic Proposal Form instructions.

For general information about IIPPE, its Working Groups, and the Conference, visit IIPE. If you would like to discuss this before submitting an abstract please get in touch with James Foley and Alice Kinghorn-Gray.

11TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE IN POLITICAL ECONOMY

September 12-19, 2021 / Online Conference

Panel 1: ‘Populism, Sovereignty and Class Politics’

Despite more than a decade of capitalist stagnation, the anti-capitalist left and the trade unions have not made persistent gains in any global north state. Instead, resistance has emerged in more sporadic political directions, with persistent anti- establishment grievances and demands for the accountability of state power. These themes were initially exploited by leftists like Syriza and Podemos, but latterly have often been exploited in by right-populist political entrepreneurs. A cross-cutting theme has been ‘sovereigntism’, the assertion of the primacy of the political sphere over the free play of market forces. The aim of this session is thus to analyse the political climate arising from an ongoing crisis of neoliberal globalisation.

We would consider papers addressing the following themes:

• What factors account for the failure of “left populist” experiments to sustain early breakthroughs

• What explains “pasokification”? Why have centre-left parties so often been the electoral victims of the breakdown of neoliberal globalisation?

• Is the left’s commitment to “open borders” reconcilable with a national populism from the left?

Panel 2: ‘Class, nation, and the breakup of Britain’

The United Kingdom was central to the economics and geopolitics of the era of neoliberal globalisation. However, the breakdown of New Labour and the effects of austerity has led to a wrenching and persistent crisis of the state form, ranging from Brexit to Scottish independence referendum(s) to new contestation over Northern Irish borders. Central to this process has been the failure of the traditional centre-left to discipline working class voters to the status quo. With the possibility of a new Scottish referendum, this panel will analyse and discuss the implications of the crisis of the British state. We would consider papers addressing the following themes:

• Are the 2014 independence movement and the 2016 Brexit vote interrelated phenomena?

• Did opposition to austerity take the form of constitutional politics, and if so, what are the wider implications for analysing contemporary class politics?

• Has nationalism transcended Labourism as the representative politics of working- class voters? How does this compare to the wider phenomenon of “Pasokification”?

• Why has Labourism proved ineffective in addressing the crisis outside of metropolitan England?

• What would be the geopolitical and geo-economic implications of the breakup of Britain?

IMPORTANT: When submitting your abstract for consideration for the panel, please clearly write the name of the panel (above) in the abstract. When asked to select which working group the proposal is relevant for, please tick the box for it to be considered by the NEOLIBERALISM WORKING GROUP. This will ensure it is sent to the right people for review.