2^nd INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIAL SCIENCES

Public Policy at the Crossroads: Social Sciences Leading the Way?

Rethymno, 15-16 June 2018

Call for Papers

In contemporary societies social science is oftentimes interlaced into public policy. Yet, informing public policy with social science research is a complex process which manifests power relations. Whether we refer to the local, regional, national or transnational level, designing public policy remains a convoluted and intricate series of actions and dynamics. Especially in the framework of the current globalised economy and the recent global economic crisis, developing and establishing public policy is undoubtedly affected by a multitude of factors. As such, the systematic study of public policy in its diverse aspects represents a challenge for the Social Sciences. Public policy analysis needs to critically reflect on its own role in (de)legitimising policies and also of its usage from state agents or public authorities. There is no doubt that these issues require interdisciplinary methods and approaches that trespass the borders of any individual social discipline. Only through an open and dynamic dialogue between the various fields that constitute social science and beyond it will it be possible to effectively address the crucial issues that relate to the development and implementation of public policy in our days.

The Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Crete, aware of these challenges and the interdisciplinary nature of the issues that arise regarding public policy in contemporary social and financial conditions, announces the organisation of an international conference on the subject of public policy and the role of social sciences. Researches from all fields of social science (including economics, political science, psychology, sociology, history and social anthropology) are invited to participate. Interdisciplinary approaches are particularly welcome, as are papers with a comparative analytical perspective. Topics -indicatively- include:

1. Economic policy
2. Employment and unemployment policies
3. (Re)distribution of income, welfare policies and social cohesion
4. Educational policies and reform
5. Urban policy
6. Rural policy
7. Mental health care policy
8. Health care reforms
9. Refuge and migration policies
10. Environmental policies
11. Energy Policy
12. Youth Policy
13. Effectiveness of policy reforms
14. Methodological issues and theoretical inquiries in the study of public policy.
15. Public policy in comparative perspective.
16. Public policy in historical perspective.

Papers, especially interdisciplinary ones, on any other aspect of social science are also welcome. Suggestion for panels or streams are also welcome.

You are invited to send a title and a summary (up to 500 words) of your proposed paper or the title(s) of the panel(s) together with the titles of the papers to be presented and the names and affiliations of the authors of each paper by 1^st of March 2018.

Registration deadline: 30th April 2018.

Participants who wish their papers to be uploaded on the conference website before the conference, should submit their full-text paper by the 5th of June.

You can download Call for Papers here.