MANCEPT / MANCEPT Workshops / MANCEPT Workshops 2021 / Panels I-N / Neorepublicanism and liberal egalitarianism

Neorepublicanism and liberal egalitarianism

Convenors

Liberal egalitarianism and neorepublicanism are well established but competing approaches in political philosophy. Liberal egalitarian theories share a roughly similar theoretical core and theorists in this tradition often understand themselves as taking part in a collective effort to apply liberal egalitarianism to solve practical problems. The same is true for neorepublicans.

Interestingly, regarding some practical questions, liberal egalitarians and neorepublicans
come to similar conclusions despite starting from different theoretical premises. This has led some neorepublican theorists to claim that neorepublicanism provides a superior justification for these shared conclusions (Pettit 1997; Pettit and Lovett 2009). This, however, has been contested by liberal egalitarians. On the other hand, recognizing the respective merits of each of the theoretical approaches, some theorists propose an integration of both theories (e.g., Thomas 2016).

The aim of the workshop will be to further explore the relationship between liberal egalitarianism and neorepublicanism: What are the respective strengths and weaknesses of the competing normative research programs (especially when applied to practical political problems)? What are the implications for specific practical areas of application (like social justice, multiculturalism and others)? Is the theoretical integration of both research programs or specific parts of their theories possible and fruitful?

We invite contributions that explore the theoretical relationship between neorepublicanism and liberal egalitarianism. We also welcome contributions that explore the merits of neorepublicanism and/or liberal egalitarianism in general, and when applied to specific practical problems. In addition, we invite papers that look at the discussion from a meta-theoretical perspective, and, for example, discuss criteria for the evaluation of different theoretical approaches in political philosophy.

Suggested topics of papers may include, but need not be limited to:

  • Discussions of central conceptions (e.g., freedom as non-domination and liberal conceptions of freedom)
  • Discussions of central normative principles of both approaches (e.g., “justice as minimizing domination”, Lovett 2009)
  • Practical implications of the two approaches (e.g., for social justice or multiculturalism)
  • Criticism of neorepublicanism from the perspective of liberal egalitarianism
  • Criticism of liberal egalitarianism from the perspective of neorepublicanism
  • Comparisons of the merits of the respective approaches
  • Proposals of theoretical integration of liberal egalitarianism and neorepublicanism, or specific elements of the approaches
  • Metatheoretical inquiries that provide criteria for evaluating different approaches
 

Submissions guidelines

Please send abstracts of no more than 500 words to unger@politik.uni-mainz.de and juergen.sirsch@uni-bamberg.de by Monday 18 May 2020. Please include in your email your name, institutional affiliation, paper title and attach your abstract as a separate, anonymous document suitable for blind review. We welcome papers from individuals at all stages of their career and in all traditions. If your abstract is accepted, we will ask you to pre-circulate your paper to fellow speakers by the 1st of September in order to facilitate in-depth discussions at the workshop.

Please also note that as a presenter at this workshop you will need to register for the MANCEPT workshops. The registration fees are £240.00 for academics and £135.00 for graduate students and retirees. Registration for the conference opens in May. Graduate students, early-career researchers, and retirees whose papers have been accepted may apply for bursaries. The deadline for this is Monday 15 th June and successful applicants will be notified by Monday 22 June. Further information will be published on the MANCEPT website (https://mancept.wordpress.com/mancept-workshops/) closer to the date. We aim to send notification of acceptances by May 25, leaving sufficient time for those who are eligible to apply for a bursaries.

The University of Manchester