February 01, 2018

SASE Networks Spotlight

As in previous issues of the newsletter, we continue to bring you profiles of SASE’s networks. While mini-conferences are one-off yearly events, networks bring people together year after year to pursue a particular intellectual program. Some of the networks, as you will read below, have existed long enough that their genesis has become a mystery! SASE is always evolving, and so are the networks. In this issue, we take a closer look at some of the networks with a longer history. In the spring issue, we will focus on those networks that have recently been convened or undergone significant restructuring.  In this issue:

When was your Network founded? 

Doug Fuller, Network B (Globalization and Socio-Economic Development): We don’t know. Caroline and I took over from the previous organizers in 2013 with some transitional help from Aaron Major.  Given that it is Network B, we assume it was one of the earliest networks. 

Julimar Da Silva and Santos Ruesga, Network M (Spanish Language): We don’t know, but we have been the network’s organizers since SASE/Madrid 2011. 

Were you one of the founders? Briefly, what was the genesis of the Network?

Richard Doner, Network B (Globalization and Socio-Economic Development): I was not one of the founders, but based on what I know, the impetus was to provide an arena in which scholars of comparative political economy – in both developing and developed countries – would have a chance to get feedback on our work and learn from each other.

What academic disciplines are most represented in your Network?

Doug Fuller, Network B (Globalization and Socio-Economic Development): While political science and sociology (including economic sociology) are prominent along with some representation of industrial organization and non-mainstream economics, our network wishes to emphasize a broad-minded multidisciplinary approach.

Diane-Gabrielle Tremblay, Network C (Gender, Work, and Family): Sociology, economics, management, political science, and demography.

Elizabeth Gorman, Network D (Professions and Professionals in a Globalizing World): Sociology and organizational studies/management.

Julimar Da Silva and Santos Ruesga, Network M (Spanish Language): Economic development, political economy, labor relations, social politics, and socio-economics.

How has the focus of the network changed over time?  

Doug Fuller, Network B (Globalization and Socio-Economic Development): The relative emphasis of the network before our current team took over was on the consequences of globalization for both developing and developed countries whereas now we emphasize the political economy of development, although we still provide space for discussion of the socio-economic consequences of globalization for developed countries.

Diane-Gabrielle Tremblay, Network C (Gender, Work, and Family): There has been no change, really. The network investigates the changing intersections among gender, work, and family life in the context of institutional contradictions.  The focus has mainly been on gender and women’s issues, work and employment, and work-family integration or conflict, with many international comparisons of family or employment policies.

Elizabeth Gorman, Network D (Professions and Professionals in a Globalizing World): The network has a fairly broad focus, welcoming all research that relates to professional and expert work, professional organizations, professional regulation, and the policy influence of professions, among other topics.  I am not sure there has been any marked change in focus.

What are some of the most important issues or themes that have guided your Network in recent years? What do you think will be central in the next few years?  

Doug Fuller, Network B: The role of state given the constraints of neo-liberal globalization and the politics of upgrading within the evolving global industrial landscapes with a particular emphasis on industry sectoral-level effects.

Diane-Gabrielle Tremblay, Network C (Gender, Work, and Family): In recent years there has been much discussion on forms of employment, precarious jobs, parental leave and other family policies, entry of women into male sectors, and a lot of discussions on work-family issues in various professions/occupations. There has been a lot of discussion on work-family, family and employment policies across the world.

A key issue is the rise of new social inequalities embedded in the changing dynamics of work and family time, as well as the gender division of work (productive and reproductive).

Elizabeth Gorman, Network D (Professions and Professionals in a Globalizing World): There has been growing interest in the nature and role of professional service firms, especially among management scholars.

In the future, I believe that the regulation of professional and expert work will become a central topic.

What do you get from SASE and this Network in particular that you do not get at other conferences that you attend?  

Doug Fuller, Network B: SASE and our network offer an intellectual pluralism in terms of the range of theories, methodological commitments and sources of data.  This is quite rare in other disciplinary fields and at SASE there is no sense of rivalry between these approaches. 

Our network also offers one of the few places where a multidisciplinary approach to the political economy of development is the core theme.

Diane-Gabrielle Tremblay, Network C (Gender, Work, and Family): SASE and Network C provide an opportunity to meet colleagues from a wide variety of disciplines and to learn more about current research in multiple areas. A lot of international comparisons, access to research from around the world and also interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary perspectives.

Elizabeth Gorman, Network D (Professions and Professionals in a Globalizing World): SASE is a wonderful way to connect with people outside my own discipline (sociology) and with people from Europe and other non-U.S. countries.

Is there anything about your Network and its dynamics, frameworks, orientations, or central issues that make it different from other Networks?

Doug Fuller, Network B (Globalization and Socio-Economic Development): We believe our network is among the most pluralistic, both because there are fewer restrictions in terms of substantive paper topics and it frequently centers around research focused on particular geographic regions or countries. 

Diane-Gabrielle Tremblay, Network C (Gender, Work, and Family): Probably its interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary perspectives, and the very international perspectives developed in many papers.

What would you want people to know about your Network?

Doug Fuller, Network B (Globalization and Socio-Economic Development): Our focus is on political economy of development with an ecumenical multidisciplinary approach to this topic while we also provide a forum for papers that discuss the socio-economic consequences of globalization beyond the developing world. 

Elizabeth Gorman, Network D (Professions and Professionals in a Globalizing World): Professional and expert work will continue to play an ever more important role in developed economies.  It also presents a wealth of thought-provoking issues.  We would welcome greater participation from scholars in politics, economics, and other disciplines beyond sociology and organization studies/management.

Julimar Da Silva and Santos Ruesga, Network M (Spanish Language): The general goal of this network is to study Latin American strategies and obstacles to sustainable development in the long-term from theoretical, empirical, and political points of view, to analyze them from a multidisciplinary perspective. Accordingly, we focus on the following issues: the state of the art in socio-economic studies; development and varieties of capitalism; democracy, citizenship, and social movements; macroeconomics, financial systems, and prudential regulation; culture, development, and creative economy; industrial relations, labor, and well-being, inequality and social policies; sustainable development, territory, and environment; industry and international trade; and globalization, international relations, and regional integration.

What is your most recent book or publication? 

Network B (Globalization and Socio-Economic Development):

Network C (Gender, Work, and Family):

Network M (Spanish Language):

Interviews conducted by

Emma Greeson

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This article is taken from
SASE Winter Newsletter 18/19
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This article is taken from
SASE Winter Newsletter 17/18
Go to Contents