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

About 30 years ago, intensive theoretical debates took place in the social sciences in general, and in sociology in particular, which this panel would like to look at from a Latin American perspective. These debates in Latin America were not driven by the desire to overcome European theories, the objective was not to define a kind of “Southern theory”, but to come to terms with concrete political, social and academic issues: 1. The need for a theoretical reorientation especially on the part of the left after the end of “real-existing socialism”. 2. The need for theoretical tools compatible with concrete political and social challenges, especially that of democratization. 3. The economic transformations from an industrial capitalism based on national production to a globalized financial capitalism represented important theoretical challenges that are manifested in the theoretical discussions on globalization. 4. The consolidation and “academization” of the social sciences, especially sociology in the university systems.

Today, there are signs that this boom of theoretical discussions and debates has run out of steam. The panel would like to address the following questions: What are the intellectual and institutional reasons for this crisis? What are the consequences? Finally, suggestions will be made as to how the crisis might be overcome. This panel is based on the assumption that this will be feasible if current social-theoretical debates succeed to reconnect with the issues of the 1990s, many of which are still pending.