5th ISA Forum of Sociology (6-11 July 2025)

Professional groups like accountants, doctors, lawyers and teachers in modern societies have traditionally been regarded as the epitome of responsible leadership with their lengthy periods of education and ethical codes stressing their commitment to clients and the wider public. However, in more recent times in the wake of the counter culture and beyond, the independent use of their expertise in the public interest has been seriously questioned from three vantage points: (1) ever-more critical citizens and users of services; (2) the challenge of an increasingly intrusive and less trusting state; and (3) the detrimental impact of corporations and organizations. In this context, the rise of multinational professional service firms has added to debates about deprofessionalisation, but more than anything has raised issues about whether professions are currently acting as responsible leaders and what role they can positively play in the future. This regular session explores these issues – not least in the context of the widely publicised United Nations Sustainable Development Goals which highlight the importance of, amongst other things, reducing inequality, enhancing health, promoting sustainable growth, addressing climate change and seeking peace and justice. Papers are invited on professions either singly or collectively analysing the ways in which such groups may be seen as advancing one or more of such agendas and the extent to which they have been diverted by their self-interests and/or other extraneous factors.