CFP: Philosophy and Public Issues: Republicanism between Democracy and Justice

Philosophy and Public Issues

Call for papers

Symposium: Republicanism between Democracy and Justice

With a discussion of Philip Pettit’s On the People’s Terms: A Republican Theory and Model of Democracy      (Cambridge University Press, 2012)

Guest Editors: Enrico Biale and Pamela Pansardi

Submission Deadline

Long Abstract (1,000 words max): 15 November 2014

Full paper (10,000 words max, upon acceptance): 15 March 2015

Invited Contributors

Amy Allen (Dartmouth College), Josè Luis Martì (Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona), John Parkinson (University of Warwick), and Philip Pettit (Australian National University and Princeton University).

Aims and Background

In the last few decades, Republicanism became one of the most influential perspectives in political philosophy. Based on the single ideal of freedom as non-domination, Republicanism tries to reconcile social justice with democratic legitimacy. Unlike most of the accounts of social justice, which are not concerned with democratic institutions or interpret them as merely instrumental to the promotion of justice, Republicanism holds that individuals’ participation on an equal footing within the decision-making process is constitutive to the promotion of justice. Moreover, unlike traditional accounts of democratic legitimacy, according to which a minimum level of social fairness is simply a pre-requirement for democratic institutions, republican theory considers social justice as a constitutive feature of democracy. Republicanism is, thus, a critical alternative to Liberalism that does not challenge liberal core values.

Is Republicanism really able to offer a theory that reconciles social justice and democratic legitimacy on the basis of the sole value of freedom as non-domination? Is the single ideal of (equal) freedom as non-domination able to justify both the means and the ends of the government? Is the Republican account of democratic institutions able to provide a satisfactory conception of democratic legitimacy? Can Republican account of social justice deal with economic inequalities and how?

There is a growing and rich discussion on these topics, and this special number of Philosophy and Public Issues intends to capture and explore it. We encourage submissions of original papers that focus on these questions as well as on other aspects of democratic theory from a theoretical and philosophical perspective. Relevant topics are (but not limited to):

- The relations between justice and democracy;

- The problem of the justification of democracy;

- The distinction between Liberal and Republican accounts of democracy;

- The relations between Republicanism and deliberative accounts of democracy.

This special issue will include a discussion of Philip Pettit’s On the People’s Terms: A Republican Theory and Model of Democracy (Cambridge University Press, 2012), with commentaries by Amy Allen (Dartmouth College), Josè Luis Martì (Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona), John Parkinson (University of Warwick), Enrico Biale (University of Piemonte Orientale), Pamela Pansardi (University of Pavia), followed by Philip Pettit’s replies.

Submission Details

Please send a (.rtf, .doc or .docx) file containing a long abstract (1,000 words max) and a title, prepared for blind review with all revealing references to the author removed. All personal information (name, affiliation, and contact) must be submitted separately, along with a short abstract (200 words max). Deadline for abstract submission is 15 November 2014. Decisions will be made within a month.

Upon notification of acceptance, you will be invited to submit the full paper (8,000 words max) no later than 15 March 2015.

All material should be submitted on line: http://fqp.luiss.it/submit/

Further Inquiries

Please direct any queries about this call for papers to PPI’s Editors at [email protected]. More information on the Philosophy and Public Issues can be found at