Ideas into movement
Boost TNI's work
50 years. Hundreds of social struggles. Countless ideas turned into movement.
Support us as we celebrate our 50th anniversary in 2024.
![](/files/styles/image_small_small/public/2023-12/50%20years_donate.jpg?h=ddb1ad0c&itok=A10HW4Q6)
The Transnational Institute (TNI) in the Netherlands is issuing an open call for essays/short papers for its forthcoming State of Power report launched in late January 2016 to coincide with the World Economic Forum in Davos. In 2016, we are particularly looking for accessible, engaging essays that interrogate how power relates to democracy.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/emmettgrrrl/
TNI’s annual State of Power reports have, since their launch in 2012, become a must-see reference point for citizens, activists and academics concerned with understanding the nature of power in our globalised world. With a mixture of insightful essays and compelling infographics, State of Power has examined the changing nature of power (economic, political, cultural, social), exposed the key players who control power, and highlighted counter-power movementsseeking to transform our world.
For the second year running TNI is opening up the call to the public, particularly academics engaged in and supportive of social movements and activists keen to step back and reflect on their struggles, in order to pull in the best analysis on power.
For a long time, the powerful in our world were happy to preach the messages of ‘democracy’ as it seemed to coincide with their interests particularly in a Cold War context. Advocating democracy and deregulation of markets were seen as synonymous, even though elites were careful never to embrace the application of democracy to issues of economic control.
In more recent years, though, democracy seems to be ever more an irritant for elites and something they are happy to ignore– in Europe at least reflected most powerfully this year in the complete dismissal of the Greek elections and referendum by the Eurozone group. As the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, put it bluntly, “There can be no democratic choice against the European treaties”. Even if Greece had gone its own way and left the Euro straitjacket, it is doubtful the international financial markets would have given the Greek any more democratic room to manoeuvre.
Meanwhile at a global level, one can see similar trends in governance as bodies like the World Economic Forum push for self-selected multi-stakeholder forums to decide on critical issues, arguing that democracy and states no longer deliver effective solutions and embracing corporations as the new global citizens of our age. Throughout the world, movements struggle continuously against government elites that constrict democratic choices and repress autonomous civil society movements. This is true too of progressive governments that rose to power on the back of social movement struggles and yet now face growing criticism for limiting democratic debate and undermining critical social movements.
These experiences prompt a number of important questions that we would like to interrogate:
TNI is also open to other reflections on the issue of power and democracy that may be of use to social movements involved in fighting for social and environmental justice. Although many of these questions are theoretical in nature, the most useful analysis will use concrete examples and case studies to illustrate their points.
TNI is particularly interested in essays that relate to areas we most closely work on such as corporate impunity, trade and investment policies, land and agrarian issues, resource grabbing, public services, security and civil liberties, social movements and counter-power (see https://www.tni.org/en/projects) However we are ultimately interested in the best analysis (whatever the topic) if it approaches power from the critical perspective held by movements engaged in the struggle for social and environmental justice and political transformation.
To encourage submissions from activists on low-incomes and people from the Global South , we are also offering a few grants of 600 euros for selected essays from individuals that fit this category. Please indicate in your submissions whether you would like to apply for this grant, providing some evidence that you do not have a sufficiently salaried position that would support you writing the essay. The full amount will only be distributed if your essay is shortlisted for the main report, although a smaller discretionary amount will be made to those who applied for the grant whose essays make the long list. Abstracts will receive no remuneration. Final decisions on grants remain with the Editorial Panel.
For an idea of the kind of essays we are interested in, please read the essays featured in State of Power 2014: http://www.tni.org/briefing/state-power-2014 and 2015 https://www.tni.org/en/stateofpower2015
TNI is not an academic institution, and seeks to provide analysis that can be read and used by a broad range of activists and social movements. We are therefore looking for new and insighful analysis that is not over-theoretical and written in a style that is accessible. We are interested in new and insightful analysis and the evidence and arguments must be rigorous. We encourage the use of stories, concrete examples, metaphors or journalistic techniques. We discourage the overuse of academic jargon and reviews of academic literature that mean little to the public. In our experience the more accessible the material, the more widely it is used and shared.
The final report will be made up of a mixture of essays from this open call and a few pre-commissioned essays. We have designed a process to feature what we consider the best essays in the main report. The decision on which papers are featured will be decided by an Editorial Panel made up of the editor of the report, the Director and the Communications Manager of TNI.
The selection process will be as follows:
1. In the first stage, researchers will be asked to provide abstracts, a short bio and some links to previous work. Abstracts can be based on existing papers or be provisional ideas of what you hope to explore. If you would like to apply for the grant – available to participants – please indicate this at this stage.
2. Those whose abstracts are chosen will be asked to submit an essay. The top four or five essays will be selected for the report by the Editorial Panel.
3. Authors of selected essays will be required to go through two or possibly three rounds of revisions based on feedback by the Editorial Panel and edits by the Copyeditor.
4. A small number of essays that do not make the shorlist for the report – but are nevertheless considered good essays by the Editorial Panel - will be available as downloadable PDFs linked from the main report.
Abstracts must be emailed to stateofpower AT tni.org by 9 October 2015. Those asked to provide essays will be notified on the 15 October. Final essays will be due on 20 November 2015.
FOR ABSTRACTS
FOR ESSAYS
August Call for abstracts/papers
9 October Deadline for submission of abstracts
15 October Notification of chosen abstracts for final essays
20 November Submission of essays
26 November Notification of chosen essays
December Revisions and liaising with Editor
9 January Copyedits sent to author for final check/revision
19 January Launch