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Organizations and Democracy: Sources of Redress of Social Inequalities, State Failure, and Oppressive Corporate Power. Part I
Language: English
Research across social, economic, and political fields over recent years continues to document the rise of social inequalities, of expansive corporate powers, and of state inability to provide distribution of resources and constrain violence. The pressures arising from neoliberal regulation, weakened states, and global market dynamics are diverse and frequently unpredictable.
In advanced economies a prominent arena of rapid change and social discontent is the sphere of work and employment. Significantly, the expansion of large multinational corporations and their networks of power and control over global value chains and national labour markets have severely strained and altered the regulatory institutions of work. Among pressing concerns are corporate de-recognition of labour's interests, attenuation of workers’ socio-political associations, and the assertions of individualistic socio-economic advantages of elite employees in privileged, high-tech sectors.
Debates continue over these extensive concerns. Some analysts observe that despite powerful forces in their demise, democratic interests persist in raising demand. This session invites papers that advance debate on contemporary expressions of industrial, organizational, and workplace democracy. Do they, or can they, contribute renewable resources not only for more equitable and sustainable organizations but for political and social justice in society more broadly?
This session invites papers that address, for instance, the conditions, opportunities, institutional heritage, key actors in coalition formation, and local practices that generate the resources, and enactments of organizational democracy, and demonstrate or propose their societal benefits. What are the linkages between organizational and workplace participation, and societal regulation and renewal of state democratic institutions?
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