We have been studying formal organizations for at least a century, if not longer, and there is not much that we do not know about them. A recent phenomenon – the digital transformation of contemporary organizations – has also attracted much attention, and great many studies were done, with interesting results. But digitalization opened also wide doors to organizing outside, oftentimes in spite of, and against, formal organizations. How do people organize demonstrations in Belarus, in Poland, or, for that matter, how do The Proud Boys do it in the USA? Indeed, there is no need for an a priorimoral evaluation, although a posteriori one is always welcome. We simply need to know more about such informal organizing, which was always present, but now has become widespread thanks to globalization and digitalization. After all, it is connecting collective actions, or “doings” to one another, which is the main trait of organizing. Organizationsare legal units; a “network” can exist, yet do nothing; in order to accomplish anything, good or bad, “doings” are necessary, and they have to be coordinated, connected, and stabilized – temporarily or for good. So, to use Bruno Latour's (2013) vocabulary, how are scripts written and dispatching performed, or in that of Annemarie Mol (2010), how is ordering (aligning) and coordination done, in informal organizing?
In this Special Issue we invite all texts based on studies that can throw some light on the phenomenon of organizing outside organizations – both fieldwork and culture studies are welcome.
Deadline for full paper submission: 30 September 2021.