Organization, De-Institutionalization, and Alienation: Education, Care, and Welfare and the New Authoritarianism

After the defeat of fascism and the collapse of authoritarian regimes in twentieth-century Europe, authoritarianism seems to be reappearing – not as a simple return of older forms, but as an emerging configuration at the intersection of neoliberalism, alienation, and new authoritarian politics.

Our focus is on education, and welfare as key domains of society. These institutions mediate solidarity, professional knowledge, democratic participation, and collective recognition. Neoliberal restructuring—through marketization, outsourcing, competition, managerial control, and performance measurement—appears to weaken institutional autonomy and turns public goods into individualized services. This produces alienation: professionals are separated from their ethical purposes, people become clients or cases, and social needs are quantified into indicators, costs, and measurable outcomes.

Manifold constellations of organizational actors – thinktanks, elite networks, foundations, corporations, platforms, and others – serve as the bearers of this development. Through these, authoritarian movements target crucial societal institutions in contemporary “culture wars.” Diversity, equity and inclusion, critical pedagogy, disability studies, and gender studies are delegitimized as ideological or socially divisive.

We consider these developments as contributing to a process of authoritarian de-institutionalization: democratic norms, professional autonomy, and pluralistic knowledge are weakened while political control, moral regulation, and exclusionary definitions of belonging intensify. We invite contributions discussing these developments. Possible questions can include but are not limited to:

• Is de-institutionalization producing new forms of social order?
• Is alienation becoming both effect and condition of authoritarianism?
• Can organizations – conventional and alternative forms – also act as guardians of democratic values, accountability, solidarity, and diversity?