Knowledge Politics and Policies

Knowledge, understood to be the foundation on which societies coalesce and economies thrive, has become central to contemporary politics and policymaking across governance levels. This section is interested in theoretical, empirical, and comparative contributions that investigate the role of politics and policy in the multi-level, multi-issue, and multi-actor governance of knowledge. In focusing on role, we refer to effects that ideas (including political ideologies), actors (both individual and organisational, including political parties and transnational entities), policy instruments, and institutions have on the governance, creation, dissemination, and transfer of knowledge. Panels will be oriented around these roles, key empirical questions, theories or methodologies. The Section continues the work on knowledge policy domains from the past 10 ECPR conferences (previously under the titles ‘Politics of Higher Education, Research and Innovation’ and ‘Europe of Knowledge’). It continues to welcome scholars, globally and interdisciplinarily, from all theoretical and methodological approaches. Proposals should have a clear conceptual framework, describe research design, data and methods, as well as highlight the expected contribution. The following panels have all been pre-proposed by the chairs listed: Demystifying power in/ of Artificial Intelligence Chairs: Inga Ulnicane (University of Birmingham), Tero Erkkilä (University of Helsinki) and Ronit Justo-Hanani (Tel Aviv University) Artificial Intelligence (AI) today is often seen as an all-powerful technology changing almost every aspect of our lives. This panel invites theoretical and empirical contributions that critically examine what power means when we talk about AI. Who has the power to make AI (seem) powerful and who is left powerless? Interest organizations in knowledge politics and policies Chair: Martina Vukasovic (University of Bergen) The panel focuses on organizations representing interests of various stakeholders in the knowledge policy domain. The panel is particularly interested in studies that analyze the role of these organizations in the policy process, how they develop their policy agendas, how they relate to their members, their internal organization and operation, as well as their positioning towards other policy actors. Science diplomacy: new directions and area of study Chair: Mitchell Young (Charles University) Papers in the panel will seek to uncover new theoretical angles for the study of science diplomacy as well as new areas of study which could bring insight, focus and coherence to this emerging area of global policymaking and diplomacy. Academia in Times of Crises Chair: Hila Zahavi (Ben Gurion University) The proposed panel aims to examine the complex role of academia during crises and wars. Using various perspectives of case studies from recent global events, the panel will illustrate the challenges faced by academia in times of crises: maintaining its activities and fulfilling its different missions while serving as both refuges for critical thought and battlegrounds for ideological conflict. Ultimately, this discussion will shed light on how academia can adapt and contribute meaningfully during tumultuous times. The politics of migration-higher education policy nexus (2 panels) Chairs: Meng-Hsuan Chou (NTU), Tero Erkkilä (university of Helsinki), Alina Felder (University of St.Gallen) These panels aim to uncover and compare the roles of migration and higher education policy nexus in filling or exacerbating contemporary skills shortages. While shortages affect all skills levels, these panels zoom into the tertiary level of skills where shortages have traditionally been met by skilled labour migration and, increasingly, policies concerning post-study pathways. These panels address the overlaps, coordination issues, and administrative conflicts among the relevant political, institutional, and economic actors when meeting the demands for changing high skills through skilled migration and higher education internationalisation. Comparing University Alliances: Politics, Policies, Actors and Institutions. Chairs: Andrew Gunn (University of Manchester), Marina Cino Pagliarello (European University Institute) This panel looks at the rise in university collaboration through multilateral and bilaterial alliances from a comparative perspective. In addition to the European Universities initiative there has been growing interest in alliances globally. The panel welcomes theorical and empirical studies that focus on one alliance as a case study or engage in a comparative analysis across different alliances. Academic freedom in higher education Co-chairs: Mari Elken & Peter Maassen (University of Oslo) Recent studies have shown how academic freedom is declining in a number of countries globally, including in Europe. Threats are manyfold and include, for example, strengthening geopolitical tensions, security concerns in research, and political interference. The panel invites contributions that explore various aspects of academic freedom, both the threats to academic freedom as well as measures to safeguard it. How do universities die? Organizational resilience, death and afterlife in higher education Chair: Alexander Mitterle (Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg) Universities are survival experts. Despite the common trope that universities are difficult to reform, they have shown a high level of adaptability and resilience since their formal organization in the 13th century. Still, the success story of higher education as a global institution is scattered by gravestones of universities that died along the way, especially private endeavours. The panel invites contributions that shed light on how universities as organizations adapt to changing environmental pressures, how they fail, close, or continue in a different form in their organizational afterlife. Authors interested in specific panels list above should contact the panel chairs directly. We anticipate one additional panel composed of papers submitted directly to the section