Call for Papers

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Uncertainty has an impact on almost all aspects of human life and the way uncertainty is perceived and treated by different actors (individuals, institutions, policy makers, …) is an important driver of societal and economic change. It can have constructive and destructive effects in different realms of society that have to be navigated.

Various researcher in social sciences and humanities have, over time, developed a variety of theoretical and empirical approaches to study and interpret the impact of uncertainty on (individual) decisions and social phenomena. With this conference, we would like to bring them together in a place of interdisciplinary exchange. The conference ”Navigating Uncertainty: Preparing Society for the Future” will provide a platform for interdisciplinary exchange on the systematic analysis of different ways individuals and institutions deal with uncertainty and of the resulting societal implications. We welcome submissions addressing conceptual issues related to the conference theme as well as applied work studying the implications of (navigating) uncertainty in concrete settings.  Papers can have a theoretical or methodological focus or be based on empirical analysis.

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Possible research questions could be but are not limited to:

• Which kinds of uncertainties in societies can be differentiated? How to measure uncertainty?
• How does uncertainty effect individual and collective beliefs and actions?
• How do uncertainties in different areas of life affect each other?
• How do societal conditions influence the use and the production of uncertainty – and how do these factors change over time?
• How are uncertainties used in negotiations and strategic communication?
• In how far does uncertainty accelerate processes of institutionalization as a mode of controlling uncertainty?
• Should uncertainty be accounted for in policy making and in the communication of policies?
• How do societies, their institutions and members prepare for uncertainty? What are constructive and destructive regulations of uncertainty?