Call for Papers: Socialist Techno-Optimism and Governance of Economic Development, 1955–1991
Slavic-Eurasian Research Center at Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
September 15–16, 2026
The Slavic-Eurasian Research Center at Hokkaido University and the Institute of Contemporary History in Ljubljana, in collaboration with the Institute of Contemporary History of the Czech Academy of Sciences, invite proposals for a dual workshop devoted to two interconnected themes: techno-optimism, understood as positive expectations about the transformative power of science and technology, and knowledge-driven models of economic governance and environmental management under state socialism.
The first part of the workshop examines socialist techno-optimism as a discursive, cultural, and epistemic formation. It explores how expectations surrounding science and technology emerged, circulated, and were contested in official, sanctioned, and unofficial discourses, as well as in popular culture. Socialist techno-optimism was articulated through narratives of the Scientific-Technical Revolution, automation, and computing as symbols of a transformed future, while simultaneously generating skepticism and irony. Particular attention is given to popular science magazines, science fiction, film, television, and visual media that both promoted socialist futurisms and exposed their contradictions. These cultural forms blurred the boundaries between imagination and reality and sustained hopes for technological progress even amid growing systemic disillusionment.
The second part of the workshop addresses socialist technocracy as a key approach to governing economic development between 1955 and 1991 and, increasingly, environmental processes. It treats socialist technocracy as a historically specific alignment of expertise, institutions, and political authority that rendered economic processes legible, measurable, and open to algorithmic governance and management. This part explores the role of planning, cybernetics, environmental management, and consumption policies in strategies of socialist development. Contributions analyze how these approaches informed economic reform and modernization within socialist states, structured development models introduced in the Global South, and connected domestic economic management with international development agendas. By integrating conceptual, institutional, and empirical perspectives, this part of the workshop situates socialist technocracy within Cold War debates on economic development, expertise, and democracy, and highlights its lasting impact on post-socialist political economies and contemporary discussions of technocratic decision making.
The organizers welcome paper proposals that engage these themes from conceptual, institutional, and empirical perspectives, with particular interest in contributions on Asian socialisms, as well as comparative, transnational, and globally connected approaches. Proposals should consist of an abstract of up to 300 words and a short biographical paragraph. Please note that the organizers are unable to cover travel or accommodation costs. Selected papers are planned for publication in a peer-reviewed edited volume. Abstracts and biographical notes should be submitted by February 28, 2026, to ivan.sablin@inz.si.
