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.
The Transnational Institute (TNI) in the Netherlands is issuing an open call for essays/short papers and artistic collaborations for its forthcoming report on the issue of counter-power. Abstract deadline extension: 17 September
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 in order to inform struggles for justice. With a mixture of compelling infographics and insightful essays, State of Power has examined dimensions of power (economic, political, social, cultural), exposed the key players who control power, and highlighted movements of counter-power seeking to transform our world. Last year’s State of Power was widely praised for its thought-provoking essays and brilliant art. This year's seventh edition will focus on counter-power.
As we mark in 2018 the 50th anniversary of the 1968 uprisings, the world is experiencing a new wave of protests and resistance by social movements. This visible rise of popular mobilisation has emerged in the context of major social and ecological upheaval and political and economic uncertainty.
Today’s movements of counter-power must contend with the rise of dangerous demagogic leaders, using a language of hate and politics of fear, as well as the challenge of confronting the unprecedented concentration of power in the hands of transnational corporations and a small elite. Many movements are also going beyond resistance, seeking to build transformative practices, particularly at local level, that can reflect values of solidarity and cooperation, rather than competition and greed.
But what is the nature of this counter-power? What is needed for it to work? What blocks effective counter-power? And how can it be best harnessed not just for resistance but also long-term transformation?
The simple definition of counter-power is an ‘opposing force’ but others have argued it is about a different form and understanding of power, one that seeks not just to seize power as it is but transform the nature and exercise of power in the process.
These are some initial questions - but by no means an exhaustive list - that we are interested in exploring:
As well as analysis, TNI would also be interested in specific case-studies that draw out general lessons, statistical quantifications of counter-power, as well as stories that capture counter-power in creative ways. Our overall goal is not only to analyse but also to build effective, democratic, just counter-power and this will require art, creativity, storytelling and more so we are open to creative proposals that seek to link experiences, ideas and imagination.
We welcome a wide range of perspectives and analysis on the broad theme, however TNI does appreciate submissions that relate to areas we work closely 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)
To encourage submissions from activists on low-incomes and people from the Global South , we also have a small number of 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. Unfortunately budgetary constraints mean that money will only be distributed if your essay is chosen for the main report.
For an idea of the kind of essays we are interested in, please read the essays featured in State of Power 2017: http://www.tni.org/stateofpower2017
While essays are the main focus of the report, TNI is also open to proposals for artistic explorations that examine the same themes that could accompany and complement the essays. The process will be different for these, so please just email stateofpower AT tni.org with any proposals or suggestions.
TNI is a rigorous research and advocacy organisation but not an academic institution. It seeks to always provide accessible analysis that can be read and used by a broad range of activists and social movements. We are therefore looking for analysis that is not overly theoretical and written in an accessible style.
We are interested in new and insightful analysis and also encourage the use of:
We discourage the overuse of academic jargon, literature analysis and academic debates 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 number of 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 Director, the editor of the report and the Communications Manager. The selection process will follow three stages:
1. In the first stage, researchers will be asked to provide abstracts, a short bio and some links to previous work. It will help your application if your previous work is not just limited to academic texts but includes some more accessible journalistic pieces. 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 low-income 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. The selected essays will go through a final round of revisions based on feedback by the Editorial Panel, and subject to final copyedit. We hope to feature one essay as an infographic.
4. Essays that do not make the top eight and are considered good essays by the Editorial Panel - will be available as downloadable PDFs linked from the main report. Remuneration unfortunately won’t be available though for these essays that don’t appear in the main report.
Abstracts must be emailed to stateofpower@tni.org by 11 September 2017. Final essays will be due on 9 November.