Regional Resilience and Innovation in Post-Socialist Central and Eastern Europe: Opportunity for Clinical Sociology?
Regional Resilience and Innovation in Post-Socialist Central and Eastern Europe: Opportunity for Clinical Sociology?
Wednesday, 9 July 2025: 01:00
Location: ASJE023 (Annex of the Faculty of Legal, Economic, and Social Sciences)
Oral Presentation
Regional resilience has emerged as a critical study area, particularly in post-socialist Central and Eastern Europe, where societal, political, and economic transformations have shaped
regional responses to external pressures. This paper explores the role of sociological research in understanding how these regions adapt to disruptive changes. Using a case study of High-Performance Computing (HPC) technology diffusion, this research examines the role of institutions, networks, and cognitive frames in shaping regional resilience across
14 regions of the Danube area. Framing this within Cultural Political Economy (CPE), we investigate how different social forces—institutions, networks, and cognitive frames—interact to produce regional imaginaries that guide adaptation strategies. Our findings suggest that resilience mechanisms, including persistence, transition, and transformation, are deeply influenced by these social forces, which operate in varied ways in core and peripheral regions. Furthermore, we argue that a uniform approach to building resilience, such as technology transfer, can lead to divergence in outcomes, particularly as new technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Quantum Computing (QC) are widely used.
regional responses to external pressures. This paper explores the role of sociological research in understanding how these regions adapt to disruptive changes. Using a case study of High-Performance Computing (HPC) technology diffusion, this research examines the role of institutions, networks, and cognitive frames in shaping regional resilience across
14 regions of the Danube area. Framing this within Cultural Political Economy (CPE), we investigate how different social forces—institutions, networks, and cognitive frames—interact to produce regional imaginaries that guide adaptation strategies. Our findings suggest that resilience mechanisms, including persistence, transition, and transformation, are deeply influenced by these social forces, which operate in varied ways in core and peripheral regions. Furthermore, we argue that a uniform approach to building resilience, such as technology transfer, can lead to divergence in outcomes, particularly as new technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Quantum Computing (QC) are widely used.
Our research highlights the impact of sociological analysis in shaping national development strategies and examines how intellectual forces redefine regional imaginaries to influence resilience. By integrating CPE, we provide a nuanced understanding of how regions in post-socialist contexts navigate complex societal transformations, offering insights into how sociology informs and shapes emergent discourses around resilience, technology, and development.