Call for Papers & Panels

Network Q “Asian Capitalisms”

SASE 2027 Annual Meeting, June 30 – July 3: Rebuilding Foundations and Hope: Creative Reconstruction in a Moment of Disruption

University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland

(with virtual sessions on June 16–18, 2027)

The Call for Papers for Network Q “Asian Capitalisms” at the SASE 2027 Annual Meeting opens on October 1, 2026 https://sase.org/events/2027-glasgow/.

Network Q promotes theory and research on the diversity of socio-economic systems and capitalist development in Asia as well as its global implications. We welcome a wide range of theoretical perspectives (e.g. comparative and international political economy, economic sociology, management studies, industrial sociology, innovation studies, political science and international relations, geography, development studies, anthropology).

Network Q 2027 Theme: Remaking Asian Capitalisms – New Paths of Development in Times of Disruption

Across Asia, governments, firms, workers and communities are seeking to explore new paths of development amid geopolitical tension, technological change and climate disruption. Debates over industrial policy, energy transitions, labour rights and social protection ask not only how economies can adapt, but who directs reconstruction, who bears its costs and whether it can support more secure livelihoods.

Development is increasingly an intra-Asian process. Investment, supply chains, technology, energy and labour migration connect Asian economies, but not on equal terms. As production and strategic industries are reorganised, established centres may gain new forms of influence, while emerging manufacturing and resource-producing economies may gain opportunities without gaining equivalent control over technology, finance or value. These shifts may reproduce, unsettle or create new centre–periphery relationships within Asia.

While China remains a magnet for debates on Asian Capitalisms, to reflect on these dynamics, we particularly welcome work on and from South and Southeast Asia. We also seek to expand the presentation of work on Japan and South Korea.

Network Q also seeks to bring detailed knowledge of Asian economies and regions into dialogue with broader debates in political economy. We welcome contributions that use area expertise to develop, challenge or refine theories of capitalism, development, institutional change and global political economy.

We welcome papers and panels addressing, inter alia:

  • Industrial policy and the building and rebuilding of productive capacity.
  • Changing relationships among states, firms, workers and communities within structural change.
  • Intra-Asian investment, trade, finance and production networks.
  • Shifting centres and peripheries within Asia: who controls technology, captures value and carries risk?
  • The prospects and limits of economic self-reliance, strategic autonomy and regional cooperation.
  • The political economy energy security, climate adaptation, and green transitions.
  • Digital infrastructure, platforms, AI and semiconductor policy.
  • Labour migration, workers’ organising, wages, and skills in transnational Asian capitalism.
  • Urban and rural development, including uneven access to infrastructure and investment.
  • Contestation and resistance across Asian capitalisms.

Network Q 2027 Submission types

For the 2027 conference, Network Q invites individual paper submissions, submissions for thematic panels, and SASE Book Salon panels on recently published books. Abstracts should be no longer than 1,000 words (plus references).

Thematic panels can address any themes and issues related to the aims and scope of the network and should be based on paper drafts with a structured discussion including a discussant. Book Salon panels consist of a book author, a chair/moderator, and a maximum of four discussants with relevant expertise on a recently published book speaking to Network Q themes. Note that SASE seeks to promote gender equality. We thus strongly encourage you to take gender balance into account in panel proposals.

Submissions should be done through the SASE website:

https://sase.org/conference-submission-guidelines/

The deadline for submissions is December 16, 2026 (hard deadline).

Please direct your questions concerning this CfP to Robert Pauls (robert.pauls@xjtlu.edu.cn) or Wei Zhao (zhaow@scut.edu.cn). If you wish to contact the other network organisers please write to Nana de Graaff (n.a.de.graaff@vu.nl), Imogen Liu (i.t.liu@vu.nl) or Boy Lüthje (luethje@soz.uni-frankfurt.de).