Theorizing Rules of Institutions – Interdisciplinary Discussions on Competition and Beyond: Call for Abstracts
Call for Abstracts
Workshop on:
Theorizing Rules of Institutions – Interdisciplinary Discussions on Competition and Beyond
15th and 16th of May, University of Linz
The organization of society is based on institutions constituted by rules that are negotiated in complex
social processes. Rules can be enforced coercively (by force or law) but also consensually (by cultural
norms, common sense, ideologies that are accepted, internalized, and may become perceived and felt
as truth). Either way power and power relations are paramount for the distinct configurations of rules
at play. One central institution in neoliberal society is competition. In the neoliberal era, (market)
competition regulates the allocation of resources, and its rules are said to ensure a fair outcome by
equalizing opportunities. As part of the interdisciplinary research project EIROC1 we focus on the rules
of competition to facilitate interdisciplinary discussions; this also allows us to question the equalizing
nature of competition not least in the current state of an unequal, globalized society, looking at global
exchange relationships, the European Unions way to sustainability and access to housing. In these
contexts and more generally, we want to ask: What is defined as a rule and how does this definition
affect outcomes? Who makes the (market) rules? How do we need to rethink our understanding of
rules and institutions? We invite scholars from different disciplines working on these questions to
present at our workshop. We particularly invite contributions from critical (social) theories (e.g.
feminist theory, dependency framework, state and regulation-theoretical approaches) and empirical
contributions that address the complexity of how power structures operate within institutions at
micro, meso and macro levels that often seem intangible. The workshop aims to discuss how these
insights can be translated into a framework for the interdisciplinary study of rules sensitive to this
complexity of power structures. To do so, we invite three experts in the field of critical competition
research to facilitate the workshop: Carina Altreiter (Austrian Chamber of Labour, Vienna), Claudius
Gräbner-Radkowitsch (Europa University Flensburg) and Stephan Pühringer (University of Linz) will
provide participants with valuable feedback.
We welcome
● contributions concerned with rules of institutions and how they are conceptualised and
operationalized, either theoretical, empirical or methodological.
● theoretical contributions concerned with rules, common sense, hegemony
● empirical contributions on rules and institutions, on competition etc.
● critical research on competition.
1 EIROC or “Explicit and Implicit Rules of Competition” is an interdisciplinary research project funded by the
Austrian Academy of Science. We study rules of competition in three specific contexts comprising the macro,
the meso and the micro level: global inequality, the European Unions way to sustainability and the shortage of
affordable housing (more information).
Submission of Abstracts: 200 words; via e-mail to laura.porak@jku.at and theresa.hager@jku.at
Deadline March 1st 2025
The workshop will take place the 15th and 16th of May in Linz, Austria (Johannes Kepler University of
Linz) and is supported by SASE’s (Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics) Women and
Gender Forum. There are no workshop fees; however, unfortunately, accommodation and travel
expenses cannot be covered by the workshop organizers.