August 24-26, 2020

Helsinki, Finland

Deadline: March 20, 2020

Recent years have intensified a complex conjuncture of global challenges. Daily news explains in clear terms that we are gambling on environmental sustainability, with increasingly small odds on our side. Rapidly advancing datafication and algorithmically organized interactions affect the logics of interaction and opinion formation. Experiences of intersecting inequalities sharpen differences, polarize political debates and create clashing camps both locally and globally. These and other current trends force us to rethink questions of power, governance and authority: in what ways do governments, corporations, political parties, social movements and citizens affect the future, and what is the role of science and expertise in the current world? These and related questions will be taken up and discussed in the 8th Power Conference, which will take place at the University of Helsinki, August 24-26, 2020. The three intensive days will include keynote talks by:

• Gianpaolo Baiocchi (New York University)
• Mark Haugaard (National University of Ireland)
• Laura Centemeri (CNRS, Centre National de la Recherce, FRA)
• Mike Zapp (University of Luxembourg)
• Suvi Salmenniemi (University of Turku)
• Shakuntala Banaji (London School of Economics and Political Science)

Several streams of paper sessions will provide participants a chance to present their work and engage in intensive discussions with colleagues. We invite scholars from all fields of inquiry to propose presentations of themes such as (but not restricted to):

• political movements and new of forms of engagement
• international organizations and global consultancy
• comparative studies on policy processes
• inequalities, social classes (inside and across nations)
• politics of affect
• datafied resources and infrastructures of power
• the role of science, knowledge and expertise
• new media and communication environments and platforms
• new conceptualizations of power and elites

Deadline for abstracts (max 300 words) is March 20, 2020. (Notification of acceptance March 31st).

Submit your abstract here: https://www.lyyti.in/power2020cfp.

Registration fees: Standard €200; graduate students €100.

Power Conference 2020 is organized by University of Helsinki, University of Tampere and the Society for the Study of Power Relations. For more information, contact the organizing committee

• Risto Kunelius, University of Helsinki (risto.kunelius@helsinki.fi)
• Eeva Luhtakallio, University of Helsinki (eeva.luhtakallio@helsinki.fi)
• Pertti Alasuutari, Tampere University (pertti.alasuutari@tuni.fi)
• Risto Heiskala, Tampere University (risto.heiskala@tuni.fi)
• Anu Kantola, University of Helsinki (anu.kantola@helsinki.fi)
• Tuomas Ylä-Anttila, University of Helsinki (tuomas.yla-anttila@helsinki.fi)
• Tuomas Forsberg, University of Helsinki (tuomas.forsberg@helsinki.fi)