The Future of Republicanism: Liberal, Critical, Radical?

The recent revival of civic republicanism has seen the emergence of distinct and often antagonistic tendencies within republican political theory. As scholarship on republicanism has blossomed, little time has been devoted to considering what unites republicans beyond a commitment to the wrong of domination. Similarly, there has been a lack of sustained attention to how different republican approaches to social, political, and economic life cohere or conflict with one another. We believe a reckoning is due.

Our aim in this conference is to clarify the divisions among republicans and ask which forms of republicanism, if any, are best placed to provide solutions to contemporary political problems. Should republicans align themselves with liberal egalitarianism, critical and socialist approaches, or insist on developing an independent republican tradition? Ought republicans endorse cultural or structural conceptions of domination? Must civic republicanism be an elitist tradition or can republicans embrace widespread popular participation in politics? How sympathetic should republicans be to the market economy, universal basic income, workplace democracy, or a post-capitalist politics?

Register at the Future of Republicanism conference website linked above.