CALL FOR PAPERS 2024
CALL FOR PAPERS
THE BIRTH AND DEATH OF DEMOCRACY
Editors: Jakub Kokoszka (jakub.kokoszka@edu.uni.lodz.pl), Marta Brewer (marta.brewer@edu.uni.lodz.pl)
Language: English
Deadline for abstract submissions: May 15th 2024
Deadline for article submissions: July 15th 2024
Planned publication date: Winter 2024
There is much discussion about the crisis of democracy with regard to the themes of the rise of populist sentiment, widening economic inequality, the cost-of-living crisis, increasing polarisation and intensified culture wars. Analyses performed within post-colonial/post-dependency studies and from feminist or queer perspectives seem particularly relevant. So, given the multitude of discourses and their range, can this topic be considered exhausted?
On the 40th anniversary of Michel Foucault's death, we wish to reiterate his call for a rethink of our own practices, addressing the problem of their form and meaning in a society like ours. In the spirit of Foucault’s idea, we propose that we reassess how we practise democracy in the context of the global crisis of liberal democracy.
Can we talk of the existence of a single democracy? Why do we need political parties? Is it time to rethink their role and the way they function? Does representative democracy address today's challenges? Do we need nation-states? Can today’s laws keep apace with the rapidly changing social realities? Do we perhaps need other practices to regulate our collective coexistence? What relevance do the colonial roots of Western states have in terms of today's democratic practices? What should be done about the resistance of our political systems to change, especially when this change is needed urgently and backed by mass protests? What should be done in the context of climate change, genocide, or humanitarian crises caused by the actions of a state? Do we need new ways of putting pressure on authorities, new forms of political agency?
These questions are an open catalogue of proposals providing a stimulus to explore your own points of reference in the act of rephrasing the problem of democratisation. We invite submissions providing a deeper reflection on the phenomenon of modern democracy at any stage of its existence, from its birth to its death. We suggest three thematic categories: texts related to definitional issues,, texts of a historical-genealogical nature, and utopian-reflective texts. Please send abstracts in English by 15th May to the editors’ email addresses. You will be notified about the acceptance or rejection of abstracts via email by May 22nd 2024. Subsequently, article submissions will be made via OJS at https://czasopisma.uni.lodz.pl/hybris/about/submissions.
