CfP: 'Power, Finance and the Crisis'

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'Power, Finance and the Crisis'

Conference of the COST-Action IS0902: World financial Crisis. Systemic Risks, Financial Crisis and Credit
Berlin (Germany), 12. - 13. September 2013

The recent economic crisis has stimulated debates about power in the field of finance. The financial ruptures seem to have challenged the existing power constellations and raised questions about a transformation of financial power relations. While the international debate about the political economy of finance was dominated by rather technical terms so far, the crisis has increasingly drawn attention to the multifaceted power constellations in financial relations: from the central role of finance in contemporary capitalism and the growing influence of rating agencies vis-à-vis national governments, to geo-economic power-constellations among monetary blocks, and to the power of financial imaginaries and their impact on peoples’ everyday practices. Though power-sensitive perspectives on finance are on the move, the systematic academic exploration of power-related questions in the field of finance is still at an early stage. There has yet to be substantial a discussion of theoretical foundations as well as empirical investigation of different forms and dimensions of power in financial relations.

The COST Conference is therefore committed to an exploration of the various power relations in the field of finance. We welcome proposals for panels and papers that engage the following themes:
• Assessing different forms of power in the field of finance: What forms of power in the field of finance are to be explored? How to conceptualize theoretically different forms of financial power, such as structural, agental, discursive etc.? What are respective sources and resources of power in the field of finance?
• Exploring dimensions of power in finance: for example hierarchies among nations and economic blocks, the role of international organizations in global finance, financial power and the EU, financialization of the state, finance versus workers, consumers, or industrial capital, everyday finance, and other relevant topics.
• Dynamics of change: Did the recent crisis change financial power relations, e.g. in the international arena or in the field of everyday finance? What are the origins of transformation of power in finance, what are forces of inertia?

Alongside these topics, there will be space for panels and papers covering other aspects of a powersensitive analysis of financial relations. We encourage potential contributors to include a gendersensitive analysis whenever possible.

Panel proposals should be based on the assumption of 1½-hour time slots. They should have no more than 250 words, containing a theme as well as a rationale for the session, names of the panel- organizers, including institutional affiliations and contact information.

Deadline: Please submit your panel and paper proposal at COST2013@icdd.uni-kassel.de by May 31st 2013

Supported by:
International Center for Development and Decent Work
University of Kassel
International Political Economy working group of the German Political Science Association (DVPW)
COST-Action
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