CFP: 13th Annual Bowling Green Workshop in Applied Ethics and Public Policy

13th Annual Bowling Green Workshop in Applied Ethics and Public Policy

Democracy: Defenses, Alternatives, Threats

Keynotes Speakers

Julia Maskivker

Loren Lomasky

2024 is a presidential election year in the US. An incredibly important election will be held. Of course, we don’t know the outcome of that election yet. But, depending on the outcome, one may be more or less inclined to believe in the viability of democratic decision-making going forward. We may be moved to ask big questions about democracy as an institution. The aim of this workshop is to bring together scholars with diverse approaches to consider some of these questions such as, but not limited to: 

·      Should democracy be defended no matter the outcome?

·      If the outcomes are bad enough, should we consider alternatives to democracy?

·      What are the most plausible alternatives?

·      What are the biggest threats to democracy?

·      How serious are those threats?

·      What steps can be proactively taken to address the looming threats?

·      How important are outcomes for the justification (or legitimacy) of democracy?

·      How should we measure what counts as a good or bad outcome?

·      If we want to defend democracy, what particular institutional form should it take?

·      How do intersectional considerations (immigration policy, extent of markets, degree of political equality) matter to democratic performance?

·      Democracy performs better in certain places than others. What can we learn from this?

More generally, we are interested in papers at the intersection of issues, such as, but not limited to:

·      Democracy and Voting

·      Democracy and Social/Political Epistemology

·      Democracy and Public Reason

·      Democracy and Instrumentalism

·      Democracy and Justice (of all types)

·      Democracy and Diversity

·      Democracy and Dynamism

·      Democracy and Free Speech

Both theoretically or empirically-based papers are welcome.  For information about previous workshops, see: https://www.bgsu.edu/arts-and-sciences/philosophy/workshops-and-conferences.html

For consideration for the workshop, please submit an abstract of no more than 500 words to [email protected] by Jan. 14th, 2024.  Please include your name and affiliation. Submissions will be reviewed by a committee, with decisions made by Jan. 22, 2024.