Abstract Book of the 8th International Conference on Research in Social Sciences and Humanities
Year: 2025
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Institutional Ecology of Critical Social Research in Chile
Prof. Dr. Claudio Ramos-Zincke
ABSTRACT:
Since the early 2000s, Chile has witnessed an increase in social protest movements, culminating in the social uprising of October 2019. In parallel, there has been a rise in the production of critical social science research. Where does this critical work take place? This is the central question of the study. More specifically, what is the institutional ecology that sustains the production of this type of research and the circulation and dissemination of its results in the country over the past two decades? Additionally, what are the characteristics of this institutional ecology? The study is based on interviews with 56 critical researchers and 14 think tank directors, as well as the analysis of think tank documents, web-based information, and public sources. The collected data is analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively. Some key findings: Universities serve as the primary institutional space for critical research and for the circulation of its products. However, there is significant dispersion and fragmentation among researchers, separated by differences in how they conceptualize social reality, thematic areas, and political orientations. Several think tanks play an important role due to their connections with the state and their participation in public debate, but in general they are weakened and make very limited use of university research. Overall, the institutional ecology is misaligned and weakly integrated. As a result, critical research products achieve only limited circulation in the public sphere.
Keywords: critical paradigm, social science, social protest, think tank, university