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The Political Consequences of Precarious Employment
The Political Consequences of Precarious Employment
Wednesday, 13 July 2016: 09:00-10:30
Location: Hörsaal 16 (Main Building)
RC18 Political Sociology (host committee) Language: English
For long, labor market divisions have been at the focus of attention of political sociologists investigating social cleavages in political behavior and attitudes. Over the last decades, the attention increasingly shifted from “old” labor market divisions, often based on social class, towards “new” divisions in labor market risks and insecurities.
Among the most notable labor market changes in many advanced economies, is the growth of flexible employment. Whereas “standard” long-term or permanent employment relationships are on the wane, “non-standard” and “precarious” employment relationships (e.g. temporary contracts, agency work, self-employment) are increasingly more common.
This session addresses the link between precarious employment relationships and political attitudes and behavior. Both papers focusing on conventional political behavior (e.g. voting) or unconventional political behavior (e.g. protesting) are invited. We encourage the submission of empirical papers with strong theoretical motivations mainly related to, but not limited to, the following three questions:
- To what extent and why divisions in labor market risks and insecurities constitute new political cleavages?
- To what extent “new” divisions based on job precariousness overlap or cross-cut “old” social cleavages in political behavior?
- To what extent the political preferences of precarious workers are homogeneous or heterogeneous?
We especially welcome papers examining the political consequences of precarious employment in comparative perspective, both cross-nationally and over time. However, also more in-depth studies, focusing on the heterogeneous nature of precarious employment are warmly invited.
Session Organizer:
Chair: