[EVENT] Call for abstract: Open Panel 4S «Tecnopower for inclusive and sustainable development»

We are excited to announce our Open Panel #220 «Tecnopower for inclusive and sustainable development. Critical approaches and praxis for democratic futures» at 4S 2026, taking place October 7–10, 2026, in Toronto, Canada.

Organizers and chairs: Paula Juarez (IESCT-UNQ-CIC/RedTISA, Argentina), Iñaki Goñi (University of Edinburgh, UK), Lucas Becerra (IESCT-UNQ-CIC/CONICET, Argentina)

Power is not only for the powerful. This panel aims to critically examine technopower as a key driver in shaping inclusive and sustainable development pathways, while opening space for plural and alternative futures. We seek to explore and expand theoretical frameworks and practical approaches that interrogate how technological change is mobilized, governed, and contested in response to pressing social and environmental challenges.

We invite contributions that question and move beyond conventional boundaries of innovation theory, policy design, and dominant “ways of doing” technological development. In particular, we welcome theoretical and empirical analyses of case studies on knowledge production and technological development undertaken by heterogeneous actors, such as cooperatives, workers’ unions, NGOs, corporations, public and private R&D centers, and governmental bodies, that actively pursue inclusive, democratic, and environmentally sustainable forms of technopower. Is there enough ‘power’ there to enact a meaningful role in today’s world? Do these practices amount to a significantly different vision of the future? Or is it all business-as-usual?

Through these contributions, we discuss whether an ‘otherwised’ technopower is attainable, understandable, and promisory as a sociotechnical standpoint, especially in a world of crisis, geopolitical decay, and a great desire for alternative futures. In doing so, we question the role of technopower, solidarity and democracy in STS more broadly.

📄Abstract length: 250–300 words

📅 Submission deadline: April 30, 2026

🔗More here: https://lnkd.in/eyVGFePX 

We warmly encourage you to share this call widely and tag colleagues who might be interested.