Народність, така велика, така багата змістом та життєвими силами, не знищеними століттями насильницького гноблення, не може бути доведена до небуття гнітом і заборонами.

Усі ці утиски можуть лише затримати її розвиток, але не більше, і, кінець кінцем, вона не може не взяти свого.

Факти останнього часу утверджують у непорушному переконанні, що широкий і всебічний розвиток української народності — лише питання часу, мабуть — дуже недалекого часу.

(Михайло Грушевський, Нариси історії українського народу, 1904/2013)

ІСТОРИКИ І ВІЙНА

Call for papers: Friends or Foes of Transformation? Economic Elites in Ukraine from Historical and Comparative Perspective

Call for papers: Friends or Foes of Transformation? Economic Elites in Ukraine from Historical and Comparative Perspective. 07th – 08th July 2017 Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities (KWI), Essen, Germany

The study of elites has gained a new momentum in recent years. Both structural and actor-centred perspectives are being applied to studying modernisation processes as well as the modalities of transformation in societies.

Having titled the conference “Friends or Foes of Transformation?”, we would like to pay attention to a specific fraction of elites – the economic elites. The term “economic elites” may refer to single entrepreneurs as well as to multiple groups and networks of actors who managed to accumulate considerable economic assets and, more importantly, to utilise these assets to exerting their influence upon politics and societal structures.

The conference focuses on Ukraine from the 19th century onwards. This focus implies the historic and comparative research of the Habsburg and Romanov empires as well as the USSR, which used to cover the territory of contemporary Ukraine. Thus, the conference’s main objective is twofold: First, to uncover the historical continuities and breaches in the formation and the establishment of the economic elites in Ukraine and its neighbourhood. Second, the conference aims at discussing present interaction patterns of economic elites in the region.

Various (transformation)-crises and discontinuities in the history of Ukraine turn the patterns of elite circulation as well as the economic competition among them into an

interesting research subject. For instance, the process of the 19th century modernisation of both Russia and Austria-Hungary made the new economic elites to the key figures in

the demographic, ethnic and social changes on the territory of what is now Ukraine. Moreover, looking further at the 20th century, one comes across the processes of rapid rise and demise of the “Soviet elites” and the formation of the “new elites” in the late Soviet era, which altogether provides efficient models for interpreting the course of Soviet history.

Finally, the key role of economic elites in the contemporary Ukraine manifests in the case of so-called “oligarchs” who strongly influence economic and political processes in the country. The strategies (of political behaviour) applied by the oligarchs alongside with their positioning within the system of political competition, usually lead to their evaluation as a burden for Ukraine’s democratisation, even though it was the oligarchs, who successfully averted authoritarian tendencies in Ukraine. Not less controversial remains the role of Ukrainian oligarchs in the ongoing conflict with Russia.

The transnational linkages are also important for the entire historic period, which is being outlined here. Therefore, we welcome comparative cross-national studies which deal with the conference questions.

We encourage both empirical and theoretical presentations to the following topics:

- „Economic elites“: Semantic shifts of the term and the alternative concepts

- Backwardness and Modernisation of the “periphery”. Local and imperial perspectives

- Economic interests, political participation, national identity of the elites

- Economic structures and networks within and beyond the state borders

- Integration strategies of the large-scale manufacturers// enterprises into the global markets

- Adaptation strategies of the economic elites during revolutions, political upheavals, military conflicts

- Public image, self-portrayal and legitimation strategies of oligarchs

- Entrepreneurs as patrons of art and culture

- Biography research about business dynasties

- further presentations relevant to the overall topic of the conference

We encourage you to submit an abstract of max. 350 words as well as your short CV until March 01, 2017. Please send the files to one of the following organizers:

Oksana Huss oksanahuss@stud.uni-due.de

Olena Petrenko olena.petrenko@rub.de

Conference languages are German and English.

The conference is organized by the interdisciplinary network „Ukraine: Post-Soviet Society in Transition“ and is sponsored by the Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities (KWI). The travelling and accommodation costs can be partially refunded

for a limited number of participants. Please, let us know, if your home institution can cover your expenses.

About the Network:

The interdisciplinary research network “Ukraine: Post-Soviet society in transition” is founded on basis of the University Alliance Ruhr and offers young scientists a platform for sharing and discussing their research findings and prospects. The focus of research is on Ukraine - a country, which serves as an example for the transition processes in the post-soviet space.

About the Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities (KWI)

The Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities (KWI) in Essen belongs to the three universities of Bochum, Dortmund and Duisburg-Essen, which form the University Alliance Ruhr (UAR). The KWI promotes excellent interdisciplinary research in the humanities, social and cultural sciences and maintains close cooperations with regional, national and international partners. It conducts basic research on the principles of modern culture with regard to relevant questions of contemporary societies. At present the Institute focuses on the thematic fields of cultures of the European in historical perspective, cultural diversity of global citizenship, cultural aspects of climate change, communicative practices used by members of different cultures of communication and civic participation. The KWI engages in civic education and outreach programmes by organizing public events and cooperations with cultural institutions as well as the media


Посилання на джерело: http://www.historians.in.ua/index.php/en/ogoloshennya/2099-friends-or-foes-of-transformation-economic-elites-in-ukraine-from-historical-and-comparative-perspective-07th-08th-july-2017-institute-for-advanced-study-in-the-humanities-kwi-essen-germany