Philosophy Conferences and Calls for Papers

Contributions are invited for a special issue of Theoria aimed at interrogating the idea that deliberative democracy is confronting significant scepticism, a scepticism which requires revising the early ambitions of deliberative democrats.

Contributors are encouraged to reflect directly on philosophical challenges such as the characterisation of deliberative democracy as procedural or substantive, the charge of irrationality posed by social choice theory, and the appropriate characterisation of ideal deliberation. Articles on the history of deliberative democracy inpolitical philosophy and theory, and its impact on political and social thought, are also welcome.

Theoretical themes would include the appropriate conceptualisation of deliberative, participatory and discursive democracy; thinking through deliberation in respect of material inequality, and its relationship to liberal-democratic capitalism, including state sovereignty; and the challenges posed by ethnic and cultural difference, and gender andminority politics.

Institutionally-speaking, contributions are invited on the possibilities and limitations of deliberative innovation; and the implications of deliberative democracy for practical politics, from conflict-resolution, through social activism such as environmentalism,to the implications for, and limitations of, virtuous citizenship.

Contributions from across the social sciences and humanities, both discipline-specific and interdisciplinary, as well as comparative perspectives, will be welcomed.

The deadline for submission of papers is 2 April 2007. An electronic version of the paper (between 6000 and 9000 words in length, with Harvard-style referencing and endnotes, and preferably in MSWord),including an abstract, six keywords and a short biography, should be sent to: Roger Deacon, Managing Editor: THEORIA, deacon@ukzn.ac.za.