CFP: Law & Revolution: Prefiguration or Abolition?

This event explores the complex and contested role of law in revolutionary politics, asking whether law can prefigure the future we seek - or whether it must be abolished to make it possible. Drawing on anarchist, Marxist, and Black feminist thought, it invites critical reflection on the possibilities and limits of law in building radically democratic, anti-racist futures. 

The intersections of law and revolution remain fraught with questions about the role of law in ‘doing’ the revolution, as well as what to make of law in a post-revolutionary society. Rooted in revolutionary thought, in particular anarchist thought and certain strands of Marxist and Black feminist thought, prefigurative politics challenges us to build the future we desire within the present. It demands congruence between our means and our ends. Yet, the implications for law remain contested, especially regarding questions of constitutional and private law, where the question of revolution has not been the subject of consistent theoretical discussion. One possible path would be abolition. The abolitionist debate has so far focused mainly on criminal law. But other legal fields (or all of it) could also be considered. Yet, would abolition be an end state or a new beginning? Either way, the question arises: could abolition be prefigured too?

We seek papers that engage critically with the theoretical and practical challenges of law’s place in revolutionary politics. Submissions might consider questions such as:

• Can law play a role in constituting anti-racist radical democracy, or must it be abolished in such an effort? Is abolition particularly concerned with only prisons, the police and criminal law, or how may abolition relate to constitutional law, private law, international law, EU law, law in general?
• Is abolition an end state, a new beginning, an ongoing process? What remains of the concept of law in a post-revolutionary context after the end of the world (as we know it)? Is the concept of law fundamentally linked to colonial, racial, patriarchal, and capitalist relations?
• Would legal abolition mean the abolition of all normative structures? Or, conversely, is effective prefiguration even possible without any law?
• In what ways can prefigurative approaches to, for example constitutional or contract law, challenge foundational legal principles like property, enforcement, hierarchy, or possibly even the legal form itself? Or is prefigurative law a contradiction in terms? Can the idea of non-reformist reforms offer a pathway for a genuinely revolutionary transformation of the law without being absorbed by existing power structures?
• What can legal theory learn from the practices of autonomous communities and radical movements about the nature and possibility of prefigurative law? How have historical revolutionary movements conceptualised the role of law in their struggles, and what insights can be drawn from their approaches to legal transformation, continuity, or abolition?
• What is the role of historical consciousness in theorising prefigurative law and normativity? Does historicisation function as a critical tool for destabilising dominant legal structures, or does it impose constraints on legal imagination? How do notions of historical continuity and rupture shape our ability to envision legal transformation?

We strongly encourage contributions from early career researchers, especially PhD candidates, whose work critically engages with these themes. Though we expect a focus on legal subjects, we do not require legal methodologies. Indeed, we encourage interdisciplinary approaches and perspectives from other academic disciplines, such as history, economics, sociology, political science and philosophy.

Confirmed speakers include Amna A. Akbar, Daniel Loick, Ruth Kinna, and Robert Knox.

Please submit an abstract of up to 500 words and a short bio by 3 May to [email protected]. 

If you require financial assistance to attend the conference, please complete the form at https://tally.so/r/meYPjk. Due to funding limitations, financial assistance will be limited and awarded based on need.