I. The theoretical construction of “workplace democracy” between trade-unions and academic discourses

Researcher: Pedro Texeira; Scientific Coordinator: Roberto Frega

This research line studies the mutual influences and interactions between trade-union and academic disciplines in shaping discourses on workplace democracy. Its research object is the circulation of concepts among academic disciplines: in which disciplinary context did specific notions of workplace democracy or workers’ voice emerge and thrive? How are the disciplinary trajectories of concepts related to non-academic circumstances, such as in particular the geographically different and historically evolving role of other knowledge-producing institutions relevant for this field, in particular trade-unions? How did the professionalization of discourses outside academia, notably through trade-union foundations, affect academic discourses? Are references to trade-unions’ theoretical positions, or to trade-unions as democratic actors explicit? Adopting a comparative perspective, the research will consist in a desk study of discourses on workplace democracy across the spectrum of the social and political sciences since WW II.

For further information please contact the project team.