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Cold war isomorphism : communist regimes and the West European model of worker participation

Hedin, Astrid LU (2016) In European Journal of Cultural and Political Sociology 3(2-3). p.201-242
Abstract
In studies of cultural globalisation, the influence of communist regimes on
Western Europe has remained under-theorised and little explored. Addressing
this gap in research, this article puts forward the glocalisation grid of world-polity
theory as a means for conceptualising and investigating how East
European communist regimes helped shape the evolution of West European
welfare states during the Cold War. The article re-traces the 1960s struggle
over expert discourse within the International Labour Organization (ILO) in
which communist regimes, including Yugoslavia and Poland, struggled to win
the bureaucratic legitimacy of the ILO for their domestic policies. In focus are
vertical, horizontal and... (More)
In studies of cultural globalisation, the influence of communist regimes on
Western Europe has remained under-theorised and little explored. Addressing
this gap in research, this article puts forward the glocalisation grid of world-polity
theory as a means for conceptualising and investigating how East
European communist regimes helped shape the evolution of West European
welfare states during the Cold War. The article re-traces the 1960s struggle
over expert discourse within the International Labour Organization (ILO) in
which communist regimes, including Yugoslavia and Poland, struggled to win
the bureaucratic legitimacy of the ILO for their domestic policies. In focus are
vertical, horizontal and temporal dimensions of glocalisation and the ensuing
perceived or superficial similarity – so-called isomorphism – of legislation on
worker participation in decision-making at the workplace. The article maps
the timing of reforms across Europe, showing how East European reforms
preceded and were co-constitutive to a pan-European process of policy
isomorphism. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
World polity theory, Cold War, International Labour Organization, communist regimes, welfare states, worker participation
in
European Journal of Cultural and Political Sociology
volume
3
issue
2-3
pages
42 pages
publisher
Taylor & Francis
external identifiers
  • scopus:85050736061
ISSN
2325-4823
DOI
10.1080/23254823.2016.1211024
language
English
LU publication?
no
id
81b24c6f-129a-40dd-ab88-eda2e753ba06
alternative location
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23254823.2016.1211024
date added to LUP
2016-11-28 11:48:38
date last changed
2025-10-14 10:41:54
@article{81b24c6f-129a-40dd-ab88-eda2e753ba06,
  abstract     = {{In studies of cultural globalisation, the influence of communist regimes on<br/>Western Europe has remained under-theorised and little explored. Addressing<br/>this gap in research, this article puts forward the glocalisation grid of world-polity<br/>theory as a means for conceptualising and investigating how East<br/>European communist regimes helped shape the evolution of West European<br/>welfare states during the Cold War. The article re-traces the 1960s struggle<br/>over expert discourse within the International Labour Organization (ILO) in<br/>which communist regimes, including Yugoslavia and Poland, struggled to win<br/>the bureaucratic legitimacy of the ILO for their domestic policies. In focus are<br/>vertical, horizontal and temporal dimensions of glocalisation and the ensuing<br/>perceived or superficial similarity – so-called isomorphism – of legislation on<br/>worker participation in decision-making at the workplace. The article maps<br/>the timing of reforms across Europe, showing how East European reforms<br/>preceded and were co-constitutive to a pan-European process of policy<br/>isomorphism.}},
  author       = {{Hedin, Astrid}},
  issn         = {{2325-4823}},
  keywords     = {{World polity theory; Cold War; International Labour Organization; communist regimes; welfare states; worker participation}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{07}},
  number       = {{2-3}},
  pages        = {{201--242}},
  publisher    = {{Taylor & Francis}},
  series       = {{European Journal of Cultural and Political Sociology}},
  title        = {{Cold war isomorphism : communist regimes and the West European model of worker participation}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23254823.2016.1211024}},
  doi          = {{10.1080/23254823.2016.1211024}},
  volume       = {{3}},
  year         = {{2016}},
}