Sabrina Zajak

This Special Issue discusses Cross Movement Mobilisation - Perspectives from the Global North and South.
Alliances between social movements constitute a vital part of understanding social movement mobilization. However, despite the advantages that come with cross-movement mobilization, the construction and maintenance of alliances remains a fundamental
challenge for activists and movements. This special issue aims to uncover and deepen our understanding of cross-movement mobilization in the global North and the global South. In this introduction we suggest to move beyond cross-movement mobilisation as relatively static cooperation between formally organised and bounded entities. Instead we need to observe cross-movement alliances as a succession of convergences around events and longer lineages of actions linked through multiple,intersecting, and non-linear processes and actions. You can contact the editors for the whole SI or the authors for the single contributions

L ange Zeit galt die »heutige Jugend« als tendenziell unpolitisch. Des-halb erschien der rasante Aufstieg von Fridays for Future zunächst überraschend. Scheinbar aus dem nichts wurde die Initiative der schwe-dischen Schülerin Greta thumberG zu einer internationalen Bewegung, die enorme mediale und politische Beachtung fand. Dabei hatten Ju-gendliche in den letzten Jahren durchaus ein wachsendes Interesse an politischen und gesellschaftlichen Themen gezeigt, insbesondere in dem Bereich Umwelt-und Klimabewusstsein, wie für Deutschland beispiels-weise die Shell-Jugendstudien zeigten. Die Enttäuschung über das Versagen der institutionellen Politik, den Klimawandel zu stoppen oder zumindest zu begrenzen, äußerte sich al-lerdings zunächst nicht in direktem Druck auf die politischen Entscheidungsträger. Es ließen sich stattdessen erste Do-it-yourself-Aktivitäten in Form von an Nachhaltigkeit und Klimagerechtigkeit orientierten Le-bensweisen beobachten. Im Jahr 2019 kam es jedoch zu einer breiten Mobilisierungswelle, in der eine große Zahl junger Menschen in verschiedenen Städten der Welt auf die Straße gingen, um staatliche Maßnahmen zur Bekämpfung des Klimawandels zu fordern. Laut den Organisator*innen beteiligten sich am ersten internationalen Klimastreiktag bereits 1,7 Millionen Menschen weltweit, über das Jahr verteilt zählte die Bewegung global über 13 Millionen Streikende, davon 3,2 Millionen alleine in Deutschland.

the book This volume addresses the contested relationship between social stratification and social movements in three different ways: First, the authors address the relationship between social stratification and the emergence of protest mobilization. Second, the texts look at social stratification and social positions to explain variations in political orientations, as well as differing aims and interests of protestors. Finally, the volume focuses on the socio-structural composition of protestors. Social Stratification and Social Movements takes up recent attempts to reconnect research on these two fields. Instead of calling for a return of a class perspective or abandoning the classical social movement research agenda, it introduces a multi-dimensional perspective on stratification and social movements and broadens the view by extending the empirical analysis beyond Europe.

This book presents novel insights on various facets of refugee support in Germany. It points out specific challenges civic engagement faces and formulates policy recommendations to which could contribute to overcome these challenges.

Der Sammelband bietet neue Erkenntnisse zu Facetten des Flüchtlingsengagements in den verschiedensten Tätigkeitsbereichen. Dabei wird auf die spezifischen Herausforderungen der Engagierten ebenso eingegangen wie auf notwenige lokale und nationale politische Reformen, um die Chancen von Erfolg versprechender Integrationshilfe durch Engagement zu erhöhen.

This book explores rising labor unrest in China as it integrates into the global political economy. The book highlights the tensions present between China’s efforts to internationalize and accept claims to respect freedom of association rights, and its continuing insistence on a restrictive, and often punitive, approach to worker organizations. The author examines how the global labor movement can support the improvement of working conditions in Chinese factories. The book presents a novel multi-level approach capturing how trade unions and labor rights NGOs have mobilized along different pathways while attempting to influence labor standards in Chinese supply chains since 1989: within the ILO, within the European Union, leveraging global brands or directly supporting domestic labor rights NGOs. Based on extensive fieldwork in Europe, the US and China, the book shows that activists, by operating at multiple scales, were on some occasions able to support improvements over time. It also indicates how a politically and economically strong state such as China can affect transnational labor activism, by directly and indirectly undermining the opportunities that organized civil societies have to participate in the evolving global labor governance architecture.
http://www.palgrave.com/de/book/9781349950218

Offentliche Soziologie ist in aller Munde: Auf internationalen Kongressen, Tagungen und in zahlreichen Publikationen (Aulenbacher, Burawoy, Dorre, & Sittel 2017, Burawoy 2015, Selke 2019) wird uber das Verhaltnis von Wissenschaft und Praxis und die gesellschaftliche Relevanz von Forschung diskutiert. Die Soziologie als Gesellschaftswissenschaft hatte von Anbeginn an auch immer gesellschaftsgestaltenden Anspruch, sodass diese Debatte nicht neu ist (Bauman & May 2001).

Chapter 5 investigates labor activism that emerged and developed within the market pathway. This pathway is characterized by dynamic economic and industrial opportunities and a set of emerging transnational institutions, including multistakeholder initiatives and labor certification schemes. Two types of opportunities have become particularly important for China-related activism in this path. First, the participation of labor activists in multistakeholder initiatives, which aim at regulating and monitoring working conditions and labor rights in Chinese production facilities of global supply chains. Second, transnational campaigns targeting international business and other associations. While all these forms of labor activism focus on improvements at the factory level as the ultimate target, they attempt to achieve these by addressing different proximate targets, such as large multinational companies, multistakeholder initiatives, and transnational business associations.

In the analytical framework, I argued that China’s internal and external strengths are relevant to transnational labor-rights activism, as the political regime might prevent domestic organizations from going transnational or because, as a global power, China uses its external strength to impact the transnational institutional environment in which activism takes place. In addition, I also put forward that domestic factors are important to understand the outcomes of transnational labor-rights activism, at the level of working conditions inside Chinese supplying factories (market pathway) and the empowerment of domestic organizations (capacity-building pathway). In this chapter, I open the black box of “China’s internal and external strength” affecting labor-rights activism. These factors include the evolution of a large rural-migrant workforce with the introduction of capitalism in China; the iterative process of labor protest and reforms of the labor law; sources of the implementation deficit of the Chinese labor law and attempts to overcome them; the development of the Chinese system of industrial relations, Chinese fragmented yet resilient version of authoritarianism, as well as the changing domestic state–society relationship. Developments of these factors help to explain why the Chinese state tends to resist certain forms of transnational activism while being responsive to others.

The book embarks to enrich our understanding of transnational activism within a multilayered governance architecture targeting an internally and externally powerful, non-democratic state. How do transnational labor activist mobilize within the contemporary global governance architecture in order to affect working conditions in China? In order to empirically explore this question, I develop an analytical framework based upon insights from research on social movements and transnational activism, international political economy, international relations, institutional theory, and labor relations which helps to gain a deeper understanding of the development and outcome of transnational activism across a variety of contexts and scales. I propose to analyze the different ways through which labor activist mobilize to study the combined effects of what I call transnational pathways of influence. I distinguish between four main pathways of influence. Transnational labor rights advocates can try to mobilize within or target international organizations (the international-organizational pathway), other states or regions (the bilateral pathway), transnational companies and private regulatory arrangements (the market pathway), or they can support the development of domestic civil society organizations (the civil society pathway). The framework developed in this chapter clarifies how activisms gets shaped by and also shapes the current global governance architecture with its multiple overlapping legal arrangements, each layer having a specific relationship to the domestic context. Hence, the framework helps to situate transnational labor-rights activism and its outcomes within macro-level changes in the global political–economic system and changes in domestic structure of the state targeted.

Economic globalization has undermined worker’s rights and traditional forms of worker’s power, but workers and trade unions have responded with new and innovative ways of “labor transnationalism”. This study aimed at formulating a more comprehensive picture of the largely unmapped terrain of institutional interactions and transnational activism in the field of labor. Overall, I conclude that multilevel labor-rights activism contributes to a process of selective convergence between Chinese labor politics and practices and international standards. Selective convergence means that, over time, Chinese labor law and factory practices increased its congruence with international core labor standards, while considerable discrepancies, in particular, in the understanding of freedom-of-association rights, continue to remain. This enabled labor activists to exert some influence on better working conditions, while in many cases their demands for better working conditions via worker empowernment got channeled into managerial dominated problem solution.

List of tables and figures Acknowledgments List of abbreviations 1. Introduction: Multilevel labor activism, transnational institutions, and China 1.1 Multilevel activism in the shadow of a strong and non-democratic state 1.2 The problem of multiple institutional contexts as an environment for transnational activism 1.3 China—the untouchable giant? 1.4 Aim of the dissertation and research questions 1.5 Research design, case selections, and data sources 1.6 Key findings of this dissertation 1.7 Structure of the dissertation 2. Reconstructing theories on globalization, institutions, and transnational activism 2.1 Trade Unions, NGOs, and China: defining forms of transnational activism 2.2 Identifying major concepts and blind spots in the literature 2.2.1. Transnational activism within social movement theory and international relations 2.2.2. Economic globalization, transnational institution building and change 2.3. Analytical framework: theorizing transnational pathways of influence 2.3.1 From multilevel opportunities to studying interdependent transnational pathways of influence 2.3.2 Institutional environments and action repertoires: intra-pathway dynamics 2.3.4 Inter-pathway dynamics 2.3.5 Interplay between the global and the local 2.3.6 The special case of the capacity pathway 2.4 Summary and overview of analytical dimensions for the study of transnational pathways of influence 3. Defining the shadow of the dragon: China’s internal and external strength 3.1. China’s economic liberalization without political liberalization 3.2 The emergence of different production regimes 3.3 A new working class in the making and the grievances of migrant workers 3.4 Worker unrest and the responses of the political regime 3.5 The evolution of the Chinese labor law 3.6 Barriers to implementing the national labor law 3.7 The changing state-society relationship: the evolution of NGOs 4. Transnational activism within the international-organizational pathway. The case of the ILO 4.2 Three facets of labor activism from above, aside and from within 4.2.1 Activism from above: international union complaints and diagnostic struggles about the rule of law in China 4.2.2 Activism from aside: the constitution of transnational linkages and the changing relationship of the ICFTU towards the ACFTU 4.2.3 Activism from below? China state agencies as gate keepers for transnational domestic opportunities 4.3 Summary and conclusion: Union strategies and China’s selective responsiveness 5. Transnational activism in the bilateral pathway: the European Union’s relations to China 5.1 Mapping the opportunity structure in Europe’s changing trade and labor agenda 5.1.1 The participatory turn in the EU’s new trade and labor agenda 5.1.2 The Europe-China trade relations 5.2 The fragmented mobilizing structure within Europe 5.3 Forms of labor-rights activism within the EU-China trade relations 5.3.1. Unions and NGOs within EU institutions: consultation and lobbying 5.3.2 Evolving activism from aside? Institutionalizing transnational exchange in EU-China relations 5.3.3 Ad-hoc labor advocacy work in EU-China dialogues 5.4 Interregional relations and participation of labor advocates: the Asia-Europe Meeting 5.5 Summary and Conclusion: increasing resonance and exclusive access 6. Transnational activism in the market pathway 6.1 Intra- and inter-pathways developments: the creation of opportunities in the market 6.1.1 Activism from within. Unstable access and voice in MSIs 6.1.2 Transnational industry wide campaigns 6.1.3 Rising or diminishing opportunities for labor advocates in the market pathway? Summary of the findings 6.2 The global-local link: the outcomes of multistakeholder regulation 6.2.1 Corporate Social Responsibility with “Chinese characteristics” 6.2.2 The coevolution and interaction of transnational and state institutions 6.2.3 Summary and overview on the different modes of interaction 6.3 Summary and Conclusion: multiple opportunities but little outcomes 7. The capacity-building pathway 7.1 The domestic political and institutional context: from closed opportunities to enabling and constraining factors 7.1.1 Domestic opportunities and obstacles for NGO activities 7.1.2 Labor-support organizations in the Chinese system of industrial relations 7.1.3 Enabling and constraining effects of transnational flow of resources 7.2 A plurality of new worker-support organizations 7.3 Case studies 7.3.1 Civil society building as legal support: the China Labour Bulletin 7.3.2 Movement-oriented organizations in mainland China: Xiao Xiao Niao 7.3.3 Business-oriented organizations: the Institute of Contemporary Observation 7.3.4 Balancing business and movement orientation: the Chinese Working Women Network 7.3.5 The intersection of domestic and transnational opportunities and the implications for the Chinese labor movement 7.3 Summary and Conclusion: contained multipartism and the Chinese labor movement 8. Conclusion 8.1 Summary of the findings: transnational…

Abstract This contribution conceptualizes the politicization of MNCs from outside – the processes by which MNCs become confronted with demands for regulation and engage in political contestation with other non-state actors. It compares two global industries, athletic footwear and toys, to show that the dynamics of politicization follow different trajectories, which are only partially to explain with structural differences across industry fields. If politicization leads to increasing political functioning of business or to a depoliticization of criticism depends to a great extend on the agency of business and their capacity to strategically counter mobilization, but also on the difficulties for activist to construct continuing collective action across a diverse range of cultural-institutional settings.

Die Entwicklung von Gewerkschaftsstrukturen in Myanmar seit der Einführung des neuen Arbeitsgesetzes und der demokratischen Öffnung Myanmars 2011 kann als Erfolgsgeschichte bezeichnet werden, vor allem vor dem Hintergrund der Unterdrückung der Gewerkschaften und anderen politischen Organisationen seitens der militärischen Herrschaft seit 1962. Der Beitrag zeigt, wie Gesetzgebung und die Entstehung von Gewerkschaften in Myanmar mit einander verflochten sind. Arbeitskonflikte können dabei als die treibende Kraft der Organisation von Gewerkschaften betrachtet werden. (Elektronische Langversion des im Druck erschienenen Artikels.)

ABSTRACT This special issue will focus on processes and mechanisms of the making and unmaking of alliances among different grassroots, civil society, and social movement organizations. The formation of alliances is a key principle and basic mechanism of mobilization and the emergence of social movements. When focusing on why and how alliances emerge, social movement scholars tend to neglect that the making and breaking of coalitions is embedded in and interacting with broader social dynamics of societal fragmentation and convergence. We understand the politics of alliances as a process in which decisions about friends and foes are made and where increased attachment toward one’s group helps to consolidate the constituency and create a feeling of belonging, but by doing so also accentuates antagonism and conflict structures in society, crystallizing interests into opposing fractions. Such dynamics often happen at the same time. Social movements may foster ideological alignment and belonging with some actors while creating more ideological distance towards others – thereby shaping the overall structure of societal relations. The contributions in the special issue build upon existing research on alliances and expands it – focusing on different friends and foes dynamics – in three important aspects: First, they look at how alliance formation interacts with the (re-)making of social boundaries and identities. Second, they address the consequences alliance formation can have across levels and contexts. Third, they explicitly look into cases where alliances fail or dissolve, and thus address the consequences of (un)making alliances.

Der Beitrag schlagt die Akteurs-Attributions-Netzwerkanalyse (AAN) als einen neuen Ansatz zur Erfassung transnationaler Felder vor, der es erlaubt, bestimmte soziale Beziehungen – namlich Verantwortungsbeziehungen – in transnationalen politischen Feldern sichtbar zu machen. Wir argumentieren, dass die Akteurs-Attributions-Netzwerkanalyse als quantifizierendes, diskursanalytisches Verfahren neue Moglichkeiten fur die Abbildung der Strukturierung transnationaler politischer Felder eroffnet, da damit die Inhalte und Arten von Attributionen systematisch untersucht und die zu Grunde liegenden Verantwortungsbeziehungen sichtbar gemacht werden konnen. Wir leisten damit einen Beitrag zu der netzwerkanalytischen Erweiterung von Feldtheorien, indem wir transnationale Feldtheorien um das theoretisch-analytische Instrumentarium der Akteurs-Attributions-Netzwerkanalyse (AAN) erganzen und politische Kommunikation in Form von Verantwortungszuschreibungen fur die Herausbildung transnationaler politischer Felder in das Zentrum der Theorieentwicklung und empirischen Messung stellen. Wir veranschaulichen unsere Argumentation an dem Beispiel des internationalen Diskurses zur Umsetzung globaler Arbeitsstandards in Bangladesch, da nach den Fabrikunglucken Tazreen und Rana Plaza eine neue Debatte uber politische Verantwortlichkeiten entfachte, die, wie wir zeigen, zu einer Re-strukturierung des transnationalen Feldes und einer Neuverteilung von Verantwortungen fuhrte.

This is the contribution "Conference Report: Workers’ Participation at Plant Level – An International Comparison: Historical Development, Contemporary Structures, Actor Constellations, Future Options (21–23 August 2013)" of MTS 50 (2013).

Alliances between social movements constitute a vital part of understanding social movement mobilization. However, despite the advantages that come with cross movement mobilization, the construction and maintenance of alliances remains a fundamental challenge for activists and movements. This special issue aims to uncover and deepen our understanding of cross-movement mobilization in the global North and the global South. In this introduction we suggest to move beyond cross-movement mobilisation as relatively static cooperation between formally organised and bounded entities. Instead we need to observe cross-movement alliances as a succession of convergences around events and longer lineages of actions linked through multiple, intersecting, and non-linear processes and actions.

Alliances, cooperation, joint mobilization between trade unions and social movements are essential to cope with the power of global capital, neoliberal hegemony and right-wing radicalization around the globe. Economic activities, organized by flexible workflows with a powerful financial system at the international level, are increasingly out of the democratic spaces of action. The development model is more and more driven by the market and people feel that they cannot govern the economic forces. We are in front of a crisis of industrial relations, of social dialogue and, at general level, of democracy. Unemployment, precariousness, fragmentation, insecurity, new forms of exploitation and commodification are key challenges in the world of work. Social life is characterized by a rise in inequalities and a reduction in social protections, with tensions towards racism, xenophobia and nationalism as quick answers to the weakness of the nation-states. Social movements and labour organizations condemn this situation demanding real democracy, social justice, dignity at work and universal rights. There are several experiences of synergies but also many difficulties to build wide collective actions to cope with the power of the global market at one side and the rising of nationalism on the other. This session discusses the following questions: How and why are alliances emerging? What factors facilitate or hinder cross-movement mobilization? What are innovative strategies and limits of cross-movement networks to cope with these challenges at local and international level? How can labour strengthen the networks and cooperation with other social movements?

Die Entwicklung neuer Protestbewegungen, wie sie in Sudeuropa im Kontext der Finanz- und Wirtschaftskrise der Eurozone entstanden sind, bieten eine Gelegenheit, die verfugbaren Theorien kritisch zu hinterfragen und zu erganzen. Die Autoren nutzen aktuelle Entwicklungen der sog. Krisenproteste, um sieben Thesen zu entwickeln, die einen Beitrag zur Weiterentwicklung spezifischer Ansatze der Bewegungsforschung leisten. 1) Diffusion verdient in der Bewegungsforschung neue Aufmerksamkeit, wobei der Vorbildcharakter von Bewegungen fur andere unabhangig von spezifischen Taktiken oder Gelegenheit entscheidend sein durfte. 2) Der geringe Grad an Europaisierung verweist auf ein fundamentales Mobilisierungsproblem uber den Nationalstaat hinaus. 3) Deprivation zur Erklarung von Mobilisierung erhalt neue Aufmerksamkeit, ohne dass die theoretischen Einwande gegen den Ansatz ausgeraumt sind. 4) Das Verhaltnis von politisch-okonomischem System und Mobilisierung muss theoretisch neu ausgerichtet wer...

On June the 9th 2016, More than 12,000 workers from different Yangon factories were protesting in Hlaing Tharyar township against low wages, forced and unpaid overtime, and the firing of organized workers. They were also protesting against the employers’ ignorance against the decisions made by the Dispute Settlement Arbitration Council. With the introduction of the new labour law and the democratic opening in Myanmar since 2011, workers increasingly articulate inhumane working conditions and labour disputes are rising. Trade unions play a crucial role in helping workers formulating and articulating their complaints. Claiming rights is an important driver for democratic change in a political environment which was characterized by brutal repression of trade unions and labour rights under the military regime for over 50 years. This article discusses the link between trade union’s role in the interpretation, spread, and application of the labour law and the current model of worker organ...

This paper presents a novel analytical framework to study transnational activism in the context of today's international governance architecture. While there is a considerable amount of literature on the emergence, development, and effects of transnational activism in specific transnational governance arrangements or within a specific local context, an integrated framework that analyzes the dynamic interplay between activism, transnational institutions, and domestic contexts is still lacking. The framework of transnational pathways of influence intends to help close this gap. It integrates insights from social movement research on transnational collective action and insights from institutional theorists on institutional interactions. The framework consists of three major concepts: the concept of intra-pathway dynamics captures the relationship of mobilization and institutional chance within one path; the concept of inter-pathway dynamics encompasses institutional interactions an...

Zusammenfassung Dieser Beitrag präsentiert erste Einblicke in eine Organisationsbefragung zur Auswirkung der COVID-19 Pandemie auf Vereine und Initiativen in Deutschland. Die Studie unterstreicht, dass die Zivilgesellschaft mit großer Wucht getroffen wurde und weitreichende, negative Auswirkungen der Pandemie zu verzeichnen sind. Dennoch zeigen die Ergebnisse ebenfalls, dass sich Teile der Zivilgesellschaft der pandemischen Entwicklung anpassen und ihre Handlungsfähigkeit aufrechterhalten konnten. Besonderes Augenmerk wird in dem Beitrag auf Muster der (De-)Aktivierung sowie die Digitalisierung zivilgesellschaftlicher Akteure in der Krise gelegt.

This paper contributes to the debate on the role of democratic participation in complex systems of governance. It takes a process-oriented constructivist approach asking how transnational activism over time contributes to the construction of access and voice from below and uses the Asia-Europe Meetings (ASEM) to analyze how interactions between civil society and global governance institutions shape concrete forms of participation. The paper shows that transnational activism triggers both discursive and institutional changes within the official ASEM process leading to an informal, fragmented, and fragile institutionalization of civil society participation. However, the paper reveals a division between civil society organizations with some, such as business representatives, having preferential access and voice in comparison to more contentious organizations. The paper explains this fragmented form of democratization as the result of three interrelated processes: the particular history...

18.30 bis 20.30 Uhr
Abendveranstaltung
in Zusammenarbeit mit der Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung/bpb
„Finden sich Ostdeutsche und Menschen mit Migrationshintergrund in der Elite wieder?“

Grußwort: Thomas Heppener (BMFSFJ)

Präsentation der DeZIM-Research Note: „Teilhabe ohne Teilnahme? Wie Ostdeutsche und Menschen mit Migrationshintergrund in der bundesdeutschen Elite vertreten sind“ durch die beiden Autor*innen Lars Vogel und Sabrina Zajak.

Podiumsdiskussion mit:

Prof. Dr. Naika Foroutan (Direktorin des DeZIM)
Thomas Krüger (Präsident der Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung/bpb)
Prof. Dr. Raj Kollmorgen (Hochschule Zittau/Görlitz und Trawos-Institut, Mitautor der Studie „Soziale Integration ohne Eliten?“)
Melanie Stein („Wir sind der Osten")

Moderation: Julia Boek (Journalistin der taz. die tageszeitung)

Die Veranstaltung wird auf dem Youtube-Kanal des DeZIM-Instituts übertragen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxCTNZEs3Sw&feature=youtu.be

Bis heute fehlt ein verbindliches internationales Regelwerk zur Durchsetzung sozialer und ökologischer Mindeststandards in einer globalisierten Welt. Wie aber kann Globalisierung gestaltet werden, dass sie den größtmöglichen Nutzen für möglichst alle Menschen auf der Welt hat?
Liegt die Lösung in der freiwilligen Übernahme von sozialer Verantwortung durch global operierende Unternehmen und in nachhaltiger Unternehmensführung? "Auf Dauer wird sich kein Unternehmen seiner globalen Verantwortung entziehen können", betont der Rat für Nachhaltige Entwicklung. Aber woran orientiert sich die globale Verantwortung der Unternehmen? An Regeln, die nachvollziehbar für alle gelten, oder an individuellen freiwilligen Maßnahmen der Unternehmen?
Wo die einen ein neues Leitbild unternehmerischen und politischen Handels sehen, das die Weltwirtschaft „nachhaltig“ verändern wird, d.h. sozialer, ökologischer und gerechter gestaltet, sehen andere PR Kampagnen und mehr Schein als Sein. Der zweite Bochumer Disput nimmt die Arbeits- und Beschäftigungsbedingungen am Ende globaler Produktionsnetzwerke näher in den Blick. Der Globalisierungskonflikt spiegelt sich in den Auseinandersetzungen zwischen transnationalen Unternehmen, ArbeiternehmerInnen, Gewerkschaften, NGOs und schließlich den hiesigen KonsumentInnen wieder: Während KonsumentInnen in Europa und Deutschland von den billigen Preisen vieler Konsumgüter profitieren, sind die Arbeits- und Beschäftigungsbedingungen in den meist in Asien angesiedelten Lieferbetrieben oft verheerend. Als Reaktion darauf sind transnationale Kooperationen zwischen Gewerkschaften und sozialen Bewegungen entstanden, die sich für die Einhaltung internationaler Kernarbeitsnormen einsetzen. Gleichzeitig verpflichten sich immer mehr Unternehmen zur Einhaltung sozialer und ökologischer Standards in ihren Lieferketten. Der Disput beleuchtet diese Debatte um die Einhaltung und Kontrolle internationaler Arbeitsstandards in globalen Lieferbetrieben mit Schwerpunkt auf Asien und dessen Effekte auf die Situation in den Fabriken aus der Perspektive der Wissenschaft, Gewerkschaften, Nichtregierungsorganisationen und der Wirtschaft.

Folgende Fragen werden u.a diskutiert:

    Wie effektiv ist die Regulierung von Arbeitsbedingungen durch transnationale Unternehmen?
    Wie hat sich die Situation der Arbeiter in den letzten zehn Jahren in den Konsumgüterindustrien verändert?
    Wie hat sich die Situation der Arbeiter in den letzten zehn Jahren in den Konsumgüterindustrien verändert?
    Welche Maßnahmen ergreifen deutsche Gewerkschaften und NGOs zur Verbesserung der Situation der Arbeiter in Produktionsländern?

Begrüßung und einleitende Thesen:
Klaus Priegnitz (IGM)
Manfred Wannöffel (RUB)

Es diskutierten:

    Monika Kemperle, Assistant General Secretary, IndustriALL Global Union, Genf
    Ludger Pries, Lehrstuhls für Soziologie / Organisation, Migration, Mitbestimmung, Ruhr-Universität
    Oliver Pye, Stiftung Asienhaus, Köln
    Heiner Köhnen, TIE, Internationales Bildungswerk, Frankfurt
    Stefan Wengler, Geschäftsführer Außenhandelsvereinigung des Deutschen Einzelhandels (AVE); Business Social Compliance Initiative
    Moderation: Sabrina Zajak (RUB)

Where do social movements come from? Who takes part in them? What are their aims? And how relevant are they in Europe in the 21st century? Under the supervision of Prof. Stefan Berger and Prof. Sabrina Zajak, the Institute for Social Movements will conduct an interdisciplinary summer school throughout the summer semester 2015 to find answers to these questions. With a particular focus on Europe, the Summer School "Social Movements in European Perspectives" will offer 20 students from different disciplines an opportunity to engage with different aspects and examples of social movements and share their ideas in discussions with experts as well as fellow students. The Summer School is organized in the framework of the Ruhr-University Bochum’s inSTUDIES program and will take place in the conference room of the Institute for Social Movements.

The Summer School will address the basic concepts and the history of social movements as well as contemporary social movements from interdisciplinary perspectives. In close cooperation with leading national and international scholars as well as activists, the Summer School will enable participating students to become familiar with various social movements in European perspectives such as labor movements, environmental movements, women’s movements, right-wing movements or anti-austerity protests.

The Summer School consists of three phases. The preparatory meeting (8 July 2015) will provide an opportunity for students to learn more about the summer school program and structure. During the five day Summer School (21-25 September 2015) invited experts from different academic fields will give presentations and discuss the current state as well as challenges of social movement research with participating students. Furthermore, local activists will provide insights into practical aspects of social movements and share their experience in discussions with students. The future workshop (12 October 2015) will constitute a follow-up of the Summer School with a particular focus on the future of social movements. The students will assess previous phases and develop future scenarios for social movements and social change.

Bochumer Disput
Der Bochumer Disput ist ein Symposium, das jedes Jahr verschiedene Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler mit Repräsentantinnen und Repräsentanten aus Politik, Wirtschaft,  Gewerkschaft und Zivilgesellschaft zu Themen gesellschaftlicher Konflikte im Rahmen des Projektes „Globalisierungskonflikte vor Ort“ zusammenbringt. Das Projekt Globalisierungskonflikte vor Ort ist ein Gemeinschaftsprojekt des Instituts für soziale Bewegungen der Ruhr-Universität (Stefan Berger, Sabrina Zajak) und der Gemeinsamen Arbeitsstelle RUB/IGM (Manfred Wannöffel) und wird von der Hans-Böckler-Stiftung finanziert.

Auftaktveranstaltung: Bochum nach Opel – welche Zukunft bleibt der Stadt?

Ein Podcast vom ersten Bochumer Disput von unter folgendem Link angesehen werden: http://echo360.rub.de:8080/ess/portal/section/6f665130-82ef-4004-91d0-09d6967af7bb

Discussion about the current state of the TTIP negotiations with Bernd Schneider, trade expert and assistant to the member of the European Parliament Helmut Scholz, Confederal Group of the European United Left - Nordic Green Left, as part of my master seminar “Global Europe. Actors, processes and labor rights in the negotiation of trade agreements” 
Here is the link to the Podcast:

http://echo360.rub.de:8080/ess/portal/section/83bdd21d-ce64-47d0-a63b-5dd188642e3f

This paper discusses the emerging power of labour in Bangladesh. Taking practice theoretical lenses on power resource approaches the paper asks how changes in the industrial landscape since the factory collapse of Rana Plaza in 2013 is linked to the emerging power of trade unions in Bangladesh. The paper finds that international allies are not simply compensating for the structural and associational weaknesses of Bangladesh labour, but are crucial in the competence building processes of Bangladesh trade unions. Unions are increasing co-constructing, strengthening and enacting three power sources: associational, institutional, and social-cultural power. The paper contributes to the debate of networked workers agency by showing that how power is constructed in an incremental way through interactions. But it also points out new limitations resulting out of managerial and political resistance, hampering emerging power practices of labour in Bangladesh. The Bangladesh Accord in Fire and Safety is a double edged sword in these processes as it one the one hand provides new opportunities for developing strategic capabilities, while on the other hand triggering additional forms of restrains.

Bisher galten Verhandlungen von Handelsabkommen als technischer Prozess, der seitens der EU durch Brüsse-ler Bürokraten durchgeführt wird und kaum öffentliche Aufmerksamkeit oder Protest erregt. Dies hat sich mit Beginn der Verhandlungen der Transatlantischen Handels-und Investitionspartnerschaft (TTIP) zwischen der EU und den USA grundlegend geändert. Die Verhandlungen lösten eine noch nie dagewesene Protestwelle und Politisierung der EU Handelspolitik aus. Die möglichen, positiven wie negativen Konsequenzen des Handelsab-kommens werden in der Öffentlichkeit kontrovers diskutiert. Überraschenderweise ist gerade in Deutschland, einem der prognostizierten ökonomischen Gewinner von TTIP, der Widerstand in der Zivilgesellschaft beson-ders groß. Von den Gegnern des Abkommens wird z.B. befürchtet, dass Harmonisierung bzw. die gegenseitige Anerkennung von Standards zu einer Absenkung der Verbraucherschutz-, Umwelt-oder Sozialstandards in Deutschland und Europa führt.

Bis heute fehlt ein verbindliches internationales Regelwerk zur Durchsetzung sozialer und ökologischer Mindeststandards in einer globalisierten Welt. Der zweite Bochumer Disput nimmt die Arbeits- und Beschäftigungsbedingungen am Ende globaler Produktionsnetzwerke näher in den Blick. Es werden Möglichkeiten und Grenzen zur Durchsetzung internationaler Arbeitsstandards und das Problem der Armutslöhne in Lieferbetrieben mit Schwerpunkt Asien diskutiert. Wie effektiv ist die freiwillige Übernahme von sozialer Verantwortung durch global operierende Unternehmen und in nachhaltiger Unternehmensführung? Wie hat sich die Situation der Arbeiter in den letzten zehn Jahren in den Konsumgüterindustrien verändert? Welche Maßnahmen ergreifen deutsche Gewerkschaften und NGOs zur Verbesserung der Situation der Arbeiter in Produktionsländern?

Der Bochumer Disput ist ein Symposium, das jedes Jahr verschiedene Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler mit Repräsentantinnen und Repräsentanten aus Politik, Wirtschaft,  Gewerkschaft und Zivilgesellschaft zu Themen gesellschaftlicher Konflikte im Rahmen des Projektes „Globalisierungskonflikte vor Ort“ zusammenbringt.

http://isb.rub.de/isb/bochumerdispute/freihandel-fairer-lohn.html.de

hier eine Einladung zur Vernetzungstagung  „Forschung zu Protest, Bewegung und Widerstand“ am 11. und 12. September 2015 im Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung (WZB), mit dem speziellen Hinweis auf den dort geplanten Arbeitskreis soziale Bewegungen, Wirtschaft und Arbeit.

This paper discusses the emerging power of labour in Bangladesh. Taking practice theoretical lenses on power resource approaches the paper asks how changes in the industrial landscape since the factory collapse of Rana Plaza in 2013 is linked to the emerging power of trade unions in Bangladesh. The paper finds that international allies are not simply compensating for the structural and associational weaknesses of Bangladesh labour, but are crucial in the competence building processes of Bangladesh trade unions. Unions are increasing co-constructing, strengthening and enacting three power sources: associational, institutional, and social-cultural power. The paper contributes to the debate of networked workers agency by showing that how power is constructed in an incremental way through interactions. But it also points out new limitations resulting out of managerial and political resistance, hampering emerging power practices of labour in Bangladesh. The Bangladesh Accord in Fire and Safety is a double edged sword in these processes as it one the one hand provides new opportunities for developing strategic capabilities, while on the other hand triggering additional forms of restrains.

Das Deutsche Zentrum für Integrations-und Migrationsforschung (DeZIM) e.V. mit Sitz in Berlin sucht zum nächstmöglichen Zeitpunkt (100% E14 TVöD, Bund) eine Co-Leitung (m/w/d/k. A.) für die Abteilung Konsens und Konflikt Das DeZIM ist ein im Jahr 2017 errichtetes außeruniversitäres Forschungsinstitut im Themenfeld Migration und Integration. Als eine ressortforschungsähnliche Einrichtung des Bundes nimmt es insbesondere Forschungs-und Entwicklungsaufgaben im Bereich der Familien-, Gleichstellungs-, Kinderund Jugend-, Senioren-sowie Engagementpolitik wahr.

wir suchen zum  Thema  „Diversität der Auswärtigen Kultur- &
Bildungspolitik“ in der Abteilung Konsens und Konflikt zum nächstmöglichen Zeitpunkt einen post-doc (im Umfang von 100%, E13 TVöD) mit statistikkenntissen und interesse an inter- und transdisziplinärrer Zusammenarbeit in Berlin. In der Abteilung Konsens und Konflikt sind auch noch weitere Stellen ausgeschrieben. https://www.academics.de/jobs/wissenschaftliche-r-mitarbeiter-in-deutsches-zentrum-fuer-integrations-und-migrationsforschung-e-v-berlin-1046632#SPCoVWc9PSws ; https://www.dezim-institut.de/fileadmin/Stellenausschreibungen/PR_27_21_WiMi_Postdoc_Diversita%CC%88t_BMFSFJ_II.pdf https://dezim-institut.de/fileadmin/Stellenausschreibungen/PR_29_21_Medienmonitoring_DataScientist_4.pdf

The next ISA Forum will be held in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in July 14-18, 2020. Porto Alegre
with its history of the World Social Forum and a major hub for global justice movements
around the world is a particularly important place for social movement scholars. Social
movements as key agents for change, struggling against inequality and discrimination, and
constructing alternative visions of the future will not only be discussed within our Research
Committee, but are directly linked to the main theme of the Fourth ISA Forum of Sociology
Challenges of the 21st Century: democracy, environment, inequalities, intersectionality:
https://www.isa-sociology.org/en/conferences/forum/porto-alegre-2020
We are therefore pleased to announce that RC47 will host 16 sessions in different formats:
paper presentation sessions, panels, invited sessions, roundtables and joint sessions with other
RCs on topics of common interest. The call for session proposals is open until March 15.
2019. We encourage session proposals on topics on the following topics:
- Social Movements and their relationship with Inequality, Precarity and Social
Stratification
- Neo-authoritarianism and Contemporary Conservative and Reactionary Movements
- Struggles against Violence and Repression
- Knowledge Production and Social Movements Practices
- Movements and Intersectionality
- Conflicts over some of the Major Struggles of our Historical Time: Natural Resources,
Territories, Social Rights, Memory, Migration, Social Inclusion, …
- Mobilization of Minorities, Marginalized and Ethnic Groups
- Youth, Generation and Emerging Activisms
- Digital Media, NTICs and Mobilization
- Transnational Networks, Global Resistance and the Politics of Scale
- Social Movements, Prefigurative Politics and the Construction of Alternative Futures
- Re-thinking Democracy in Contemporary Social Movements
- Social Movement Theories: new approaches and perspectives

book launch/Lancement du livre:
Social Stratification and Social Movements. Theoretical and Empirical Perspectives on an Ambivalent Relationship.

Information in French
Le retour en force de l'inégalité (économique) en tant que problème de mouvement interroge l'ignorance vis-à-vis des problèmes de stratification dans une grande partie de la recherche sur les mouvements sociaux. L'attention portée aux clivages et à la stratification a diminué avec l'avènement du programme de recherche classique des processus politiques du mouvement social et des processus transnationaux résultant de la prédominance du mouvement pour la justice mondiale de l'autre. Ils tentent de reconnecter le mouvement social à la recherche sur la stratification et font la distinction entre trois perspectives différentes : (1) la stratification en tant que point de départ pour comprendre l'émergence de plusieurs mobilisations partageant un trait socio-structurel commun, (2) des recherches sur la nature stratifiée des mouvements sociaux et manifestations de protestation, et (3) la stratification comme résultat des activités du mouvement social.

This volume addresses the contested relationship between social stratification and social movements in three different ways: First, the authors address the relationship between social stratification and the emergence of protest mobilization. Second, the texts look at social stratification and social positions to explain variations in political orientations, as well as differing aims and interests of protestors. Finally, the volume focuses on the socio-structural composition of protestors. Social Stratification and Social Movements takes up recent attempts to reconnect research on these two fields. Instead of calling for a return of a class perspective or abandoning the classical social movement research agenda, it introduces a multi-dimensional perspective on stratification and social movements and broadens the view by extending the empirical analysis beyond Europe.