Social policies, broadly defined, are rooted in time and space. The fundamental principles that underpin them and the forms they take are dependent on the way in which the ‘social question’ is articulated. From this point of view, social policies are constantly changing, since what a society recognises as an object of social policy varies depending on context and time period. Nevertheless, the social policies that are adopted are linked to analytical concepts and questions that remain to some extent unchanged (How can social cohesion be ensured? What relationship to work should individuals have?). In some ways, social policies could be said to be permanently changing. Nevertheless, there are different levels of change and not all of them have the same consequences for the reconfigurations of the social state. Some changes may arise out of developments in the mobilisation of labour in capitalist societies or from changes in certain socio-economic parameters (changes in demographics, employment, living conditions and so on) while the institutions themselves remain unchanged. Conversely, the institutions themselves (funding, formal rules, organisation, etc.) may change or there may be changes in actors’ perceptions and practices (identification of ‘new risks’, reorganisation of public action, disparity between prescribed work and actual work, etc.).

While the social state undergoes constant change, efforts to describe these changes, to analyse their causes and to debate the foreseeable consequences require that attention be directed successively (or simultaneously) to institutional configurations, the formulation of public policies (and in particular their reference framework) and the actors in policy-making (professionals and those eligible to contribute), as well as to the socio-economic context in which they are situated. While these research questions are not new, one of the ways of shedding fresh light on them is undoubtedly to make a distinction between the discourse of change and change itself. In reality, after all, social policies do not necessarily follow the path marked out for them in advance. They may evolve less than planned, they may follow a different trajectory or the most profound changes may not necessarily be those that receive the greatest publicity.

 The main theme of the papers to be given at the 36^th AES Conference will be the question of change in social policies. The proposals submitted should be relevant to one of the following thematic streams:

• A/ Evolution of the context in which social policies are implemented, particularly viewed in conjunction with the evolution of the forms of labour mobilisation;
• B/ Evolution of the content of those policies (new approaches?) ;
• C/ Evolution of the object of social policies (new policy areas?).

These questions may be addressed at both the most highly aggregated level (macroeconomic or comparative approach) and the most microeconomic or microsociological level, with due care being taken to examine the actors’ animating principles in all their complexity. The call for papers is traditionally open to a range of different disciplines (economics, sociology, political science) as well as to combinations of two or more disciplines (interdisciplinary approach).

Download call for papers

Juliette Alenda, Anne Bory, Anne Bustreel, Sylvie Célérier, Sylvain Celle, Ilona Delouette, François-Xavier Devetter, Anne Fretel, Florence Jany-Catrice, Martine Pernod, Marie-Hélène Toutin, Richard Sobel, Michaël Zemmour

Philippe Abecassis (Université de Paris 13)

Philippe Batifoulier (Université Paris 13)

Cécile Bourreau-Dubois (Université de Lorraine)

Nathalie Coutinet (Université de Paris 13), President of the AÉS

Hervé Defalvard (Université Paris-Est)

Jean-Paul Domin (Université de Reims), Treasurer of the AÉS

Claire El Moudden (Université de Caen)

Chantal Euzéby (Université Grenoble-2 Pierre Mendès-France)

Anne Fretel (Université Lille 1), General Secretary of the AÉS

Maryse Gadreau (Université de Bourgogne)

Bruno Jeandidier (CNRS and Université de Lorraine),

Marie-Ève Joël (Université Paris Dauphine)

Stéphanie Laguérodie (Université Paris 1)

Bruno Lamotte (Université Grenoble-2 Pierre Mendès-France),

Guillemette de Larquier (Université Paris Ouest Nanterre La Défense)

François Legendre (Université Paris-Est Créteil)

Marthe Nyssens (Université Catholique de Louvain)

Michel Maric (Université de Reims)

Jean-Luc Outin (CNRS et Université Paris 1)

Francesca Petrella (Aix-Marseille Université)

Jean-Michel Plassard (Université Toulouse 1 – Social Sciences)

Delphine Remillon (INÉD)

Nadine Richez-Battesti (Université Aix-Marseille Université)

contact the organisers

aes2016@univ-lille.fr

Deadline for submission of proposals for presentations:

23 November 2015