Researchers from the Institute for Development and International Relations (IRMO), Dr Paško Bilić and research assistant Nikolina Rajković attended the 17th Conference of the European Sociological Association (ESA), entitled Strengthening Democracies: Social Action, Solidarity, and Sustainable Futures in Warsaw, Poland (25 to 28 August 2026). The conference brought together approximately 3,500 social scientists, academics, researchers, and experts from around the world. Held every two years, the ESA Conference is the second-largest international forum for sociologists and social scientists, providing an important platform for presenting ongoing research and engaging in critical discussions on contemporary social challenges
Dr Paško Bilić and Nikolina Rajković presented the findings of research conducted during the second and third years of the DEVELOPER research project – Digital Data, Infrastructures and Development, supported by the Croatian Science Foundation.
The findings were presented in two research papers: Data Centres and Anticipated Futures at the EU Core and Periphery (Paško Bilić and Nikolina Rajković) and Enacting the Infrastructural Power of the State: Public Production Between Digital Sovereignty and the Geopolitics of Profit, co-authored with Dr Toni Prug from the University of Rijeka, who is also a collaborator on the DEVELOPER project. The project is conducted within the Centre for the Sociology of Media and Digital Society (CEMEDIG) at the Department of Culture and Communication of the Institute for Development and International Relations (IRMO).
Based on 80 interviews conducted in Croatia, the papers examined how different actors involved in the infrastructural practices of data centres across the private and public sectors perceive their activities and broader social significance, as well as the production and distribution of digital goods and services. The papers also addressed pressing questions concerning the future of further investment in data centres, examining these developments in the context of sustainability, digital dependency, and digital sovereignty.
Another paper was also presented at the conference, co-authored by Dr Paško Bilić and Maja Hoić, IRMO librarian, entitled Political-economic Values and Support for Open Science within the Croatian Scientific Community (Nikola Petrović, Paško Bilić, Maja Hoić).
We are also pleased and proud to announce that the Steering Committee of Research Network 18: Sociology of Media and Communication Research of the European Sociological Association (ESA) has once again elected Dr Paško Bilić as its Coordinator for a new two-year term.
