Conference: Politics of Participation - Focus on the 'Third Sector'

Politics of Participation – Focus on the ‘Third Sector’

University of Helsinki, Finland, August 25–27, 2005

Keynote speakers

Prof. Risto Alapuro, University of Helsinki, Finland

Ass. Prof. Oleg Kharkhordin, European University, St. Petersburg, Russia

Ass. Prof. Filip Wijkström, Stockholm School of Economics, Sweden

Decreasing level of citizen participation in the established political system has lately been pointed out as a major legitimacy problem for the principles of democratic governance. Simultaneously, distinguishing between the domains of state, market and civil society has become increasingly difficult. By the title Politics of Participation the organisers aim to draw attention to the shifting forms, contents, agents, and institutions of popular participation and joint action in the contemporary and modern context. The focus is on the processes taking place on the multifaceted ‘third sector’. The topic is approached in a wider European context, including also the emergent forms of democratic participation and civil society development trends in the Eastern European societies.

The workshop papers represent different fields of social sciences and addresses the following themes from a contemporary and historical perspective.

  • Shifting partnerships and tensions between the state, market and civil society
  • Changing contents, forms and agents of participation on the ‘third sector’
  • The relationship between non-profit and for-profit sectors
  • Various forms of citizenship – social, political, consumer, entrepreneurial, corporate
  • Links between the traditional and emergent frameworks of political and popular participation
  • How have the public authorities responded to the lowering level of participation?

The conference is organised by the Centre for Nordic Studies (CENS) at the Renvall Institute for Area and Cultural Studies in collaboration with the Network on European Voluntary Associations, the EU-funded project on Consensual Political Cultures of the Small West European States and the research project Spaces of Democracy: Representation, Citizenship and the Public Sphere, funded by the Academy of Finland.

Program

Thursday, August 25

13.45-14.00 Opening words: Henrik Stenius, University of Helsinki (aud II)

14.00-15.30 Workshops, Session I

A. National minorities, community building and participation (aud II)

Chair: Karl Henrik Sivesind, Institute for Social Research, University of Oslo

Claiming citizenship – the identity and belonging of Finnish Roma
Camilla Nordberg, Department of Social Sciences, Åbo Akademi

Micro power relations in a diasporic community
Marie-Louise Karttunen, Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, University of Helsinki

Participation in decision-making by indigeneous peoples of the North in Russia
Tamara Semenova, Russian Institute on Cultural and Natural Heritage

B. New forms and forums for local democracy and citizenship (aud III)

Chair: Eeva Luhtakallio, Department of Sociology, University of Helsinki

Public-private partnerships in the financing of culture and the fine arts
Lilian Schwalb, Institute of Political Science, University of Münster

Organizational networks of governance and public policy-making
Arho Toikka, Department of Social Policy, University of Helsinki

Practising local citizenship: deliberations on municipal services in Helsinki
Eeva Luhtakallio, Department of Sociology, University of Helsinki

16.00-18.00 Key Note Session (aud XII)

Participation in Res Publica: People, Things, Institutions

Professor Oleg Kharkhordin, European University at St. Petersburg,

Civil Society: New Borders & New Orders

Filip Wikjströ
m, Stockholm School of Economics



Friday, August 26

10.00-12.00 Workshops, Session II

A. Historical dimensions of participation (aud II)

Chair: Sidsel Eriksen, Institute of History, University of Copenhagen

Conservation movements and political participation: Urban conflicts and municipal policies 1945-2005
Laura Kolbe, Department of History, University of Helsinki

The diffusion of political ideas in space and time: The case of alterglobalist movement in Finland
Suvi Ervamaa, Department of Sociology, University of Helsinki

Participation in a consensus-seeking democracy: The Finnish institution of state committees as a framework

of collective consultation

Johanna Rainio-Niemi, Department of Social Science History, University of Helsinki

Open institutions and public participation: Historical developments in state-society interactions
Tero Erkkilä, Department of Political Science, University of Helsinki

B. Civic engagement and dimensions of citizenship (aud III)

Chair: Erik Amnå, Centre for Public Sector Research, University of Gothenburg

Civic engagement as participation?
Peter Hilger, Department of Political Sciences, University of Helsinki

Local civil society – two empirical approaches to look at it
Thorsten Hallman, Institute of Political Science, University of Münster

Democracy and ethical citizenship
Annukka Hulkko, Department of Teacher Education, University of Tampere

Labourers citizenship according Robert Owen and Daniel Legrand
Mia Hemming, Department of History, University of Tampere

13.30-15.30 Workshops, Session III (sessions A an B were merged)

Participation in the established frameworks: party system and voting (aud III)

Chair: Karl Henrik Sivesind, Institute for Social Research, University of Oslo

The end of a distinctive model of democracy? Country-diverse orientations among young adult Scandinavians
Erik Amnå, Centre for Public Sector Research, University of Göteborg; Tina Ekman, University of Göteborg; Ellen Almgren, Uppsala University

The Finnish exception: Is the party competition in Finland inaccessible to radical right populist parties?
Elina Kestilä, Department of Political Science, University of Turku

Generations and socialization into political participation
Hanna Wass, Department of Political Sciences, University of Helsinki

Preconditions of democratic e-governance - A critical approach
Tapio Häyhtiö & Auli Keskinen, Department of Political Science and International Relations, University of Tampere

16.00-18.00 Panel Discussion (aud XIV)

Young people don´t vote – a cause for concern?

Panellists: Member of the Parliament Heidi Hautala, NGO Activist Anastasia Laitila, Researcher Kari Paakkunainen, University of Helsinki, Researcher Åsa Bengtsson, Åbo Akademi University.

Chair: Professor Pauli Kettunen, University of Helsinki

Saturday, August 27

10.00-12.00 Workshops, Session IV

A. Civic initiatives and civil society trends in the EU-era (aud II)

Chair: Sidsel Eriksen, Institute of History, University of Copenhagen

The institutionalization of civil initiatives in Estonia: The organizational structure and resources
Erle Rikmann, Estonian Institute of Humanities, Department of Social Theory, Tallinn University

Political participation in Estonia and Latvia – dual communities in making
Veiko Spolitis, International Relations & European Studies Department, Riga Stradina University

Volunteering and political participation in Turkey
Laden Yurttaguler, NGO Training and Research Center, Istanbul Bilgi University

B. Participation, recruitment, and resource mobilisation in voluntary associations (aud III)

Chair: Erik Amnå, Centre for Public Sector Research, University of Gothenburg

Why certain NGO:s choose to co-operate with corporations while others do not?
Sofie Cedstrand, Centre for Public Sector Research, University of Gothenburg

Non-profit organisations in changing environments: New requirements for volunteer recruitment
Holger Krimmer, Department of Political Science, University of Münster

Depreciated social capital? Changes in Norwegian teenagers´ participation in voluntary organisations from 1992-2002
Karl Henrik Sivesind, Institute for Social Research, University of Oslo

13.30-14.15 Key Note Session (aud XIV)

Participation, Voluntary Associations, and the State

Professor Risto Alapuro, University of Helsinki,

14.15-14.45 Discussion and conclusion: Professor Risto Alapuro, University of Helsinki

Organizing Committee

  • Henrik Stenius
  • Suvi Ervamaa
  • Johanna Rainio-Niemi
  • Milka Sunell