13–14 June 2022
Submissions Due: 30 April 2022
A workshop of the Civic Constellation III project co-organised with the Department of Philosophy of the University of Milan
Over the past decades the rise in constitutional democracies across the world, and significantly throughout Europe, of anti-liberal politics has changed the terms of academic and public debates on democracy and rights. In real politics anti-liberal claims and practices are argued in the name of democracy and even of basic rights. Beyond electoral rhetoric, this challenge is not just theoretical.
The rise of anti-liberalism is now a widespread reaction to what is rhetorically presented as the faults of weak democratic regimes that, as the cases of eastern European countries illustrate, were passing through the various tests of consolidation, civic and institutional. And this has become a pervasive experience in the entire continent affecting also the most venerable democracies which are not immune to decay. In this regard, the questions multiply over the real capacity of the European Union as a bulwark of democracy.
Yet, along with this, the spread of anti-liberal views shows, on the one hand, significant parallels with the attacks, from politicians, academics, intellectuals and journalists, on liberal parliamentarism through the 1920s and 1930s. And on the other hand, a growing appraisal of the contestability of liberalism in our time. Accordingly we invite paper proposals dealing with any of the aspects related to the rise of anti-liberalism from conceptual to historical approaches in the humanities and the social sciences. Re the latter, the workshop aims also to focus on historical and critical assessments of the concept of liberalism and its multifaceted traditions.
– Please send your paper proposals of ca. 200 words (including your position, affiliation and contact details) before Wednesday, 30 April 2022, to the three conveners:
Prof. Gabriella Silvestrini (gabriella.silvestrini@uniupo.it)
Prof. Mauro Simonazzi (mauro.simonazzi@unimi.it)
and Prof. Marta Postigo (martapostigo@uma.es)
– Participants will be notified of acceptance by mid-May. Optional extended abstracts of up to 2,000 words are expected by Monday, 6 June 2022 For further information click here.
