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‘Rising Powers and Interdependent Futures’ Doctoral and Early Career Researchers Workshop Summary note June 5, 2014, 9.00 – 17.00 University of Manchester, Humanities Bridgeford Street Building, Room 1.69/1.70
1. Aims of the workshop The (re-)emergence of several ‘Rising Powers’, including but not limited to Brazil, China, India and Russia, is triggering increasing interest among social science researchers trying to understand processes of global social and economic change. The ‘Rising Powers and Interdependent Futures’ Doctoral and Early Career Researchers workshop brought together a group of early career researchers, including PhD students and post-docs, associated with the 12 research projects funded under the ESRC ‘Rising Powers and Interdependent Futures’ programme. Our aim was to create a friendly atmosphere for exchange around our work on these countries, with regard to topics and theoretical approaches as well as around methodological issues and practical considerations associated with doing fieldwork in these countries. Further, the workshop provided an opportunity to discuss ideas for future collaboration, identifying ways to link the work of early career researchers involved in this programme to wider societal opportunities and challenges arising from current global changes arising from the growing prominence of the Rising Powers.
2. Summary of discussions Coming together in Manchester on 5 June 2014, the early career researchers used the opportunity to get to know each other and exchange around their work on the Rising Powers, based in different disciplines but sharing a common curiosity about ongoing changes in and beyond these countries. In addition, the workshop provided an opportunity to interact with and receive feedback from academics working on the Rising Powers, based in Manchester and beyond.
Starting out with a thought-provoking keynote speech on China as driver of a new form of globalisation, Professor Jeffrey Henderson (University of Bristol) set the scene for a day of discussion and exchange. Arguing that China is fundamentally changing the political and economic dimensions of globalisation, Professor Henderson also highlighted possible implications for developing countries that may experience greater financial scope to pursue own policy agendas, different from neoliberal approaches that previously characterised much of globalisation. Broader discussions on the dynamics unfolding within the Rising Powers and their impact on other countries around the world were complemented with exchange around participants’ specific research projects in smaller thematic working groups. Reflecting the diversity of research projects under the Rising Powers and Interdependent Futures programme, these projects cover issues within the Rising Power countries, such as different aspects of governance or national innovation systems, as well as the international involvement of Rising Power actors, including in global production networks as well as in agricultural and infrastructure projects in African countries. Further, the workshop allowed room for informal exchange around fieldwork experiences and expectations in Brazil, China, India and Russia.
3. Way forward On the way forward, participants agreed that it would be useful to keep up communication, to be able to further explore opportunities for cooperation among members of the network around more tangible objectives and concrete activities. In this regard, creating a virtual network would allow regular but not time-consuming communication. Specific action points include: • create a dedicated page on the risingpowers.net website highlighting PhD and postdoc involvement in research around the Rising Powers programme • set up a google group as mailing list for internal communication among the group • explore the added value of a joint facebook group • explore opportunities for joint dissemination of our work, e.g. through participation/panels at conferences such as o the Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics o the Rising Powers Group in the Development Studies Association
