Workshop, King’s College London, 17 March 2014
The concept ‘neoliberalism’ has often been invoked to understand and critique social, economic, political and cultural realities in the countries of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. There has been significant scholarly interest in how the macro-level forces of neoliberalism and global capitalism influence policy, identities and everyday life in the postsocialist region, from studies of moralities, values and self-governing personhood to the impact of welfare restructuring, economic change and the ‘Washington consensus’.
At the same time, there is growing unease about the conceptual usefulness of the term neoliberalism (e.g. Clarke 2008) as well as its application to the postsocialist region. Recent work by area scholars highlights the distinctiveness of neoliberalism in Eastern Europe, namely how it interweaves with assemblages, orders and practices connected to state socialism and the transformations since 1989 (e.g. Hemment 2009; Collier 2011). The extent to which individuals and groups who have navigated rapidly changing politico-economic structures are really dominated by neoliberal forces is also unclear. What role is there for agency and resistance to neoliberalism?
Extending these analyses, the workshop provides a forum for evaluating the meaning and relevance of neoliberalism in the region. The event is designed as an informal and supportive space for researchers to consider how neoliberalism is implicated in their own work. Invited presenters will share theoretical reflections, work in progress, new analyses of empirical data or updated research conclusions. A wide disciplinary and country focus will help to understand if and how neoliberalism relates to postsocialism.
Thanks to the Department of Education and Professional Studies, King’s College London, and the Leverhulme Trust for their financial and logistical support
References
Clarke, John (2008) ‘Living with/in and without neo-liberalism.’ Focaal – European Journal of Anthropology, 51, 135-147. Available at http://oro.open.ac.uk/18127/1/10_Clarke.pdf
Hemment, J. (2009) ‘Soviet-style neoliberalism? Nashi, youth voluntarism and the restructuring of social welfare in Russia.’ Problems of Post-Communism 56:6, 36-50. Available at http://works.bepress.com/julie_hemment/2/
Collier, S. (2011) Post-Soviet Social: Neoliberalism, Social Modernity, Biopolitics. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press
Critical postsocialisms 