12TH THE ROLE OF THE STATE IN VARIETIES OF CAPITALISM (SVOC) INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

‘New Perspectives on (New) Industrial policies in the Era of Geoeconomic Shifts’

Date:

June 1-2, 2026

Venue:

HTK, 1097 Budapest, Tóth Kálmán utca 4.

Organiser:

Institute of World Economics, ELTE Centre for Economic and Regional Studies

Form:

in-person

The 2026 Conference Theme

Industrial policy was once described as “the policy that shall not be named” (Cherif and Hasanov, 2019), but it has re-emerged as a widely embraced, almost universal remedy to economic challenges, triggering intense academic and policy debates.

An age of ‘new industrial policy’ (Juhász – Lane – Rodrik, 2024, Juhász – Lane, 2024) has thus dawned. Its aim is “to steer a sustainable structural change of our economies and societies towards sustainable human development” in the post-COVID era (Ferrannini et al, 2021: 1). Redesigned and reformulated industrial policy has become “limitless” (Voszka, 2019), as today (1) it extends beyond what was its traditional sector, manufacturing; (2) its geographical scope has expanded from ‘latecomer economies’ to developed ones, such as the United States and the European Union; (3) territorial focus moved beyond the national level to include local and supranational initiatives; and (4) main objectives have expanded beyond structural transformation to include social aspects, sustainability and the green transition, techno-nationalism, as well as geopolitical and geoeconomic rivalry in addition to the spread of artificial intelligence which provides momentum for disruptive change (Acemoglu, 2025).

The conference contributes to ongoing theoretical and policy debates as well as advanced empirical research in comparative and international political economy on (re-)industrialization and industrial policy. It has a particularly strong focus on the challenges of the green and digital transitions as well as the implications of techno-nationalist and geoeconomic rivalries.

The 12th SVOC International Conference invites scholars to present novel work on industrial transformations and their broader implications for economies, societies, and political regimes. We encourage submissions that adopt different levels of analysis, including the global, national, local, and sectoral levels. We welcome contributions that offer a better understanding of new industrial policies, especially in relation to structural change, infrastructural development, the green transition, and other dimensions of inclusive and sustainable development. In addition, we encourage interested researchers to submit papers especially (but not exclusively) on the following themes:

1. Cutting edge debates in theoretical perspectives on new industrial policies;
2. Empirical research on new industrial policies (country case studies, sectoral approaches, comparative analysis);
3. New infrastructural developments (transnational networks, national investments, industrial infrastructures);
4. Sustainable development, green transition: challenges and policy options;
5. The reshuffling of global value chains: theoretical debates and new empirical evidence;
6. Comparative capitalism, growth models and welfare states (recent theoretical advances, case studies and comparative analyses);
7. Central and Eastern Europe-focused analyses;
8. New industrial policies: implications from and for the Global South.

Abstracts (max. 300 words)are welcome until 20 February 2026. Please, send the title and the abstract to svoc@krtk.elte.hu. Notifications of acceptance will be sent by the 6 March 2026.

Keynote Speakers

Réka JUHÁSZ, University of British Columbia

Title: Insights from the New Economics of Industrial Policy

and

Petr PAVLÍNEK, University of Nebraska at Omaha

Title: TBA

Registration fees

Early bird fee (discount available until 31 March 2026): 60 EUR (for PhD students 40 EUR)

Regular fee (payment deadline 30 April 2026): 80 EUR (for PhD students 60 EUR)

Important dates

Abstract submission:                                       20 February 2026

Notification of acceptance:                               6 March 2026

Conference fee payment (early bird):                31 March 2026

Conference fee payment (regular):                    30 April 2026

Conference:                                                    1–2 June 2026

SVOC Scientific Board Members

István BENCZES (Corvinus University Budapest, Institute of World Economics)

Beáta FARKAS (University of Szeged)

Dániel MUTH (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)

Judit RICZ (Corvinus University Budapest, Institute of World Economics)

Dorottya SALLAI (London School of Economics)

Magdolna SASS (Institute of World Economics)

John SZABÓ (Institute of World Economics)

Miklós SZANYI (Institute of World Economics, University of Szeged)

Ágnes SZUNOMÁR (Corvinus University Budapest, Institute of World Economics)

Organisation

The following e-mail address svoc@krtk.elte.hu is the primary communication channel for SVOC 2026. Participants can simply submit abstracts and papers by sending them to this email address. All information issued by the organisers will also be sent from this e-mail.

The primary organizers of the conference are as follows:

Emese DOBOS            dobos.emese@krtk.elte.hu

Zsófia BALLER          baller.zsofia@krtk.elte.hu

While communication through the above-mentioned central conference e-mail is to be prioritised, participants are welcome to contact the organizers directly, if they need:

• An official invitation letter for visa applications;
• An invoice for the conference fee or help with transferring the conference fee;
• Assistance, suggestions in making travel and accommodation arrangements, etc.

DOWNLOAD CALL FOR PAPERS HERE

A Call For Papers – 12th SVOC 2026 Conference bejegyzés először VGI-én jelent meg.

On November 21, 2025, the Institute of World Economics at the Research Centre for Economics and Regional Studies held its eleventh prestigious international conference, entitled “The Role of the State in Variants of Capitalism – East-Central European perspectives in the era of new geopolitical, geoeconomic rivalries.” This year, the event was organized on a smaller scale, as an invitation-only professional workshop. The leading experts on the topic participated in person and discussed the economic opportunities and strategies of Central and Eastern European countries considering the latest global economic trends in a series of panel discussions.

The plenary lecture initiating the debate was given by László Csaba (PhD, Central European University and professor at Corvinus University of Budapest). In his lecture, he analysed the various driving forces and aspects of the new global disorder. After clarifying the concepts, he first highlighted the main milestones leading to chaos, then examined the role of the main actors and its transformation. Finally, he summarized the main conclusions regarding the global world order (disorder). The very dynamic, exciting and richly illustrated presentation was followed by numerous comments and an exciting discussion, in which the participants drew the speaker’s attention primarily to the security dimension (specifically the development of the defense industry) and the increase in debt.

The panel presentations covered three main topics. The first focused on the crises of capitalism and issues of economic growth sustainability. The second panel analysed regional responses to European development paths, while the third panel discussion examined the opportunities for small Central and Eastern European countries from the perspective of various actors. Half of the speakers were Hungarian researchers and half were foreign researchers, so the presentations provided a good overview of the latest developments and challenges in our region, as well as the differences and similarities. We plan to publish the materials from these extremely high-quality presentations in an edited volume and a special issue of a journal, if possible.

The event was hosted by HTK (Budapest, Tóth Kálmán utca 4.).

The program is available here.

Next year’s SVOC conference will explore the latest industrial policy perspectives and challenges and, unusually, will be held in June 2026. We are pleased to announce that Réka Juhász (University of British Columbia), one of the leading representatives and active shapers of today’s industrial policy discourse in international academic literature, has accepted our invitation to give the keynote plenary lecture.

A 11th SVOC International Conference – Report bejegyzés először VGI-én jelent meg.