The power of corporate business has been a subject of intense debate and many social science studies since the 19th century. This conference is based on the idea that, not only has this power varied among industries, countries and different periods, but also that the way in which it is wielded has evolved over time. By bringing together scholars from various backgrounds within the fields of history, sociology, and political science, we intend to provide new insights on the multiplicity, depth and limits of the forms of influence that corporations, or the organizations furthering their interests – business associations, think tanks, communication or public relations agencies, foundations, etc. –, have on public policy.

Programme

June, 14  2018

8.45 – 9.15 am Registration & Coffee – Amphitheatre Raymond Aron9.15 – 9.30 am Welcoming words by Isabelle HUAULT, President of Université Paris-Dauphine, Amphitheatre Raymond Aron

9.30 – 10.00 am  Introduction – Amphitheatre Raymond Aron

10 – 12.30 am
Defining Corporate Influence  Session 1 – Amphitheatre Raymond Aron

President: Sara AGUITON (CAK, CNRS)

• The Politics of Private Regulation: Corporate Power in the World of Standards
  Tim BARTLEY (Washington University in St. Louis)
• Reverse Capture: How Public Deciders can Discipline Private Interests
  Sophie DUBUISSON-QUELLIER (CSO, CNRS)
• Capture, Conflict of Interests, Making of Ignorance, Hegemony: Conceptualizing the Influence of Economic Interests on Public Health
  Boris HAURAY (IRIS, INSERM), Henri BOULLIER (CERMES3, INSERM), Jean-Paul GAUDILLIÈRE (CERMES3, INSERM) and Emmanuel HENRY (IRISSO, Université Paris-Dauphine )

Commentator: Paul LAGNEAU-YMONET (IRISSO, Université Paris-Dauphine)

12.30 – 2.00 pm  Lunch
2.00 – 4.30 pm

Lobbying at WorkSession 2 in parallel to session 3 – Amphitheatre Raymond Aro

President: Nathalie JAS (IRISSO, INRA)

• Business as Usual? Public Problems and Quiet politics in the Field of Automobile Safety
  Stève BERNARDIN (LATTS, École des Ponts ParisTech)
• Porosity of Institutional Borders in the Field of EU Institutions: Big Industry Meeting Institutional Expectations and EU Civil Servants’ Acquaintance to Business
  Armèle CLOTEAU (PRINTEMPS, Versailles Saint Quentin University) and Nicolas RIFFAULT (CESSP, EHESS)
• Interplays of Economic and Knowledge Power: Neoliberal Think Tank Networks and the Return and Universalization of Entrepreneurship
  Dieter PLEHWE (WZB Berlin Social Science Center)

Commentator:  Guillaume COURTY, (CERAPS, Lille University)

Corporate Strategies Against Protest and Regulation
Session 3 in parallel to session 2 – Room A

President: Marc-Olivier DÉPLAUDE (IRISSO, INRA)

• Assessing ExxonMobil’s Climate Change Communications: A Case Study in Corporate Influence on Public Opinion and Policy
  Geoffrey SUPRAN (Harvard University) and Naomi ORESKES (Harvard University)
• Mobilizing Consumer-Citizens and the Corporate Quest for Sociopolitical Legitimacy
  Julie GERVAIS (CESSP, Panthéon-Sorbonne University)
• The Situation Room: Stigma Management and the Political Impact of Claims-Making by Contested Industry Groups
  Edward T. WALKER (University of California Los Angeles) and  Ion Bogdan VASI(University of Iowa)

Commentator: Linsey MCGOEY (University of Essex)

4.30 – 5.00 pm  Coffee break

5.00 – 6.00 pm Keynote 1 – Amphitheatre Raymond Aron

• Convergent Corporate Bias: Pharmaceuticals and Public Health Policy
  John Abraham(King’s College London)
  

June, 15 2018

9.00 – 9.30 am Coffee

9.30 – 12.30 am  Corporate Solutions to the World’s Problems

Session 4 – Amphitheatre Raymond AronPresident: Valentin THOMAS (IRISSO, Université Paris-Dauphine )

• The Society of the Friends of Art (SAA) and the Corporations’ Influence on Cultural Policy During the Pinochet Regime
  Caterina PREDA (University of Bucharest)
• Corporatizing Urban Policy-Making: Management Consultants, Service Reviews and Municipal Restructuring
  Chris HURL (Concordia University)
• Mutation in the Water Industry in Bamako: A Compulsory Autonomy
  Pascale PINCEAU (Independent researcher, Paris) and Anna TRAORE (University of Bamako)
• Environment: The Business Revolution, 1988-1992
  Dominique PESTRE (CAK, EHESS)

Commentator: Soraya BOUDIA (CERMES3, Paris Descartes University)

12.30 – 2.00 pm Lunch

2.00 – 4.30 pm
Occupying Regulatory Spaces Session 5 in parallel to session 6 – Amphitheatre Raymond Aron

President: Nicolas FORTANÉ (IRISSO, INRA)

• Are Scientists Agents of Corporate Power on Public Policy? Corporations and the Use of Science for Diffuse Lobbying Strategies
  David DEMORTAIN (LISIS, INRA)
• When Aerosol Industry Shapes its Own Future: Toward a Specific Modality of Industrial Reflexivity
  Mathieu BAUDRIN (CSI, Mine ParisTech)
• “Structural Power” of Big Business in Green Industrial Policy: The Makings of a Green Car Coalitions in South Korea
  Kahee JO (King’s College London)

Commentator: Sylvain LAURENS (Centre Georges Simmel, EHESS)

Corporate Development and State Power, Session 6 in parallel to session 6 – Room A

President: Emmanuel HENRY (IRISSO, Université Paris-Dauphine)

• Corporate Power as a Cooperative Relation Between Problem-Solving Actors: The Case of Social Impact Investing in the UK
  Philipp GOLKA (University of Hamburg)
• Lead Arseniate, Agricultural Engineers, Pesticides Industry and Fascism in Spain (1939-1945)
  Jose Ramon BERTOMEU-SANCHEZ (University of Valencia)
• Corporate Influence in the Framing of Factory Crimes
  Pascal MARICHALAR (IRIS, CNRS)

Commentator: Sezin TOPÇU (CEMS, CNRS)

4.30 – 5.00 pm Coffee

5.00 – 6.00 pm
Keynote 2  – Amphitheatre Raymond Aron

The Creeping Financialization of Public Policies; Eve Chiapello  (CEMS – EHESS) 
6.00 – 8.00 pm  Evening Buffet

June, 16 2018

9.30 – 12.30 am
Influencing Through Expertise and Regulatory Tools, Session 7 – Amphitheatre Raymond Aron

President: Nathalie JAS (IRISSO – INRA)

• Scientific or Economic Interest? An interpretive approach to the scientific opinions of World Health Organization Experts in Carcinogenicity
  Valentin THOMAS (IRISSO, Université Paris-Dauphine)
• Privileged access: Industry Influence in OECD Chemical Testing Standards
  Colleen LANIER-CHRISTENSEN (Harvard University)
• Influencing “Policy Options” at the OECD: The Promotion of Value-Based Pricing by Pharmaceutical Companies
  Pierre-André JUVEN (CERMES3, INSERM)
• Testing Toxics: Tools, Standards, and Corporate Data in the History of Chemicals Regulation
  Angela CREAGER (Princeton University)

Commentator: Benjamin LEMOINE (IRISSO, CNRS)

12.30 am Conclusions

Confirmed Conference Speakers

• John Abraham (King’s College of London)
• Tim Bartley (Washington University in St. Louis)
• Eve Chiapello (EHESS/CEMS)
• Sophie Dubuisson-Quellier (CNRS/CSO)
• Dominique Pestre (EHESS)
• Dieter Plehwe (WZB)
• Ed Walker (UCLA)

Scientific Committee

Sophie Dubuisson-Quellier (CNRS/CSO), Scott Frickel (Brown University), Mathias Girel (ENS/Caphes), Linsey McGoey (Sussex University), Sezin Topçu (CNRS/CEMS)

Organizing Committee

Sara Aguiton(CNRS/CAK), Marc-Olivier Déplaude (INRA/IRISSO), Emmanuel Henry (Université Paris Dauphine/IRISSO), Nathalie Jas (INRA/IRISSO), and Valentin Thomas (Université Paris Dauphine/IRISSO).

For any enquiries, please contact: pervasivepowers.conference@gmail.com

This conference is supported by the research programs ProPublics and SHS-ENV (funded by PSL Research University), the House of Public Affairs (Université Paris-Dauphine), and the IFRIS.