Datensatz

Zusammenfassung

This special issue wants to honour the memory of Giulio Regeni, a PhD student at the University
of Cambridge who was assassinated while he was conducting field research on independent trade
unions in Egypt. This introduction and the following articles focus on the theoretical, empirical
and methodological questions at the core of Regeni’s research. Unions have traditionally been
regarded as crucial for representing the interests of the working class as a whole and for
building and sustaining industrial and political democracy; however, there is a debate about the
conditions under which unions can be effective, and the role of unions’ internal democracy is
particularly controversial. The article discusses the theoretical linkages between trade unions,
democratization and union democracy and concludes with a reflection on the new concerns
about the risk of conducting field research on these issues raised by Regeni’s death.