9‐10 December 2021
Doctoral students and early career researchers in the social sciences are cordially invited to submit a paper proposal to this workshop organized by the Nordic ESPAnet.
Call for abstracts/papers
The COVID‐19 pandemic hit the Nordic countries to varying degrees, and the responses also differed. Like in many other European countries, lock‐down measures of different magnitude were implemented, while social policies in many instances were strengthened. In several Nordic countries, the pandemic marks a sharp turn in welfare state development away from stagnation and decline that have characterized much of social policy developments since the early‐1990s, towards expansion. Most new measures or improvements are temporary, although powerful interest groups in some Nordic countries are mobilizing to make the changes in social policy more permanent. This of course raises the question whether in retrospect the COVID‐19 pandemic provided a momentum for more lasting reforms of the Nordic welfare states, or if social policy soon will revert back to where it was before the crisis.
We invite papers that address the changing nature of the Nordic welfare states and other European countries in the wake of the COVID‐19 pandemic (as an external shock) or in response to other structural and institutional changes. Both quantitative and qualitative investigations and studies focusing on either the drivers of policy reform or its outcomes are welcome. Papers may either concentrate on developments in a single country or adopt a comparative perspective. Studies addressing the Nordic and other European welfare states from a theoretical and conceptual perspective are also welcome.
Aims: The workshop will:
- provide doctoral students and early career researchers an opportunity to present current work and receive constructive feedback from an international panel of professors, early career researchers, and peer‐doctoral‐students
- develop a supportive network of PhD and early career researchers with an interest in Nordic social policy research.
Selection of participants
The participants for the workshop will be selected on the basis of content (quality of research and how well the study contributes to the overall theme of the workshop). The Nordic ESPAnet board will assist in selecting participants.
Abstracts
In order to apply for the workshop, please send an abstract of 400‐500 words to
anna.kahlmeter@sofi.su.se. Write “Nordic ESPAnet PhD workshop” in the subject. PhD students and early career researchers that are accepted to the workshop will be asked to provide a full paper (5000‐8000 words). Early career researchers who have completed their doctoral degree are asked to state the date of their PhD in the abstract. The full paper should be submitted to the organizers and participants ten days prior to the workshop. The paper should be accompanied by information of particular issues in the study that the participant wishes to discuss.
Important dates
Submission deadline for abstracts: 1 October 2021
Notification of acceptance: 15 October 2021
Deadline for the submission of full research proposals or papers: 1 December 2021 Workshop: 9‐10 December 2021
Venue
Online via Zoom, but depending on the Covid‐19 pandemic, there is a possibility of a hybrid conference and participation on site at Stockholm University.
Conference fee and costs
There is no fee for the conference. Possible participation on site is at the expense of each individual participant.
Organizer
Swedish Institute for Social Research, Stockholm University
Correspondence: anna.kahlmeter@sofi.su.se
Nordic ESPAnet board: Professor Guðný Björk Eydal (University of Iceland), Professor Helena Blomberg‐Kroll (University of Helsinki), Professor Caroline de la Porte (Copenhagen Business School), Professor Jonas Edlund (Umeå University), Professor Rune Halvorsen (Oslo Metropolitan University), Professor Heikki Hiilamo, (University of Helsinki / National Institute for Health and Welfare), Professor Kolbeinn Hólmar Stefánsson (University of Iceland), Professor Liisa Häikiö (Tampere University), Professor Jon Kvist (Roskilde University), Professor Janine Leschke (Copenhagen Business School), Professor Thomas Lorentzen (University of Bergen), Professor Kenneth Nelson (Stockholm University), Research Professor Anne Skevik Grødem (Institute for Social Research)
We very much look forward to your application!!!
Anna Kahlmeter, Kenneth Nelson, and Rense Nieuwenhuis