{"id":1701,"date":"2022-03-08T11:29:07","date_gmt":"2022-03-08T11:29:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/act-wb.net\/?p=1701"},"modified":"2022-03-08T11:31:45","modified_gmt":"2022-03-08T11:31:45","slug":"call-for-papers-revitalizing-democracy-through-participatory-democratic-innovations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/act-wb.net\/?p=1701","title":{"rendered":"Call for papers – Revitalizing democracy through participatory democratic innovations"},"content":{"rendered":"

ACT.WB Jean Monnet Network Final <\/strong>Conference<\/strong><\/p>\n

Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, University of Belgrade<\/strong><\/p>\n

16-18 May 2022<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Speakers:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Giovanni Allegreti, Centre for Social Studies, Coimbra University<\/strong><\/p>\n

Roger Berkowitz, Hannah Arendt Center for Politics and Humanities, Bard College<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thamy Pogrebinschi, WZB Berlin Social Science Center<\/strong><\/p>\n

Florian Bieber, Centre for Southeast European Studies, University of Graz<\/strong><\/p>\n

Stefania Ravazzi, Department of Cultures, Politics and Society, University of Turin<\/strong><\/p>\n

Irena Fiket, Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, University of Belgrade<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

A worrying trend of autocratization that has been spreading globally in recent years brought forward the newest wave of appeals for participatory and deliberative democracy as a remedy for the crisis. Besides, challenging the liberal conception of democracy from the perspective of participation beyond voting has become the backbone of the rising tension between traditional liberal understanding of democracy and the wave of more participatory and deliberative democratic thinking.<\/p>\n

On the one hand, social movements continue to engage in participatory democratic innovations in their internal organization, and they spread these ideas within institutions. As self-reflexive actors, they experiment with new ideas of democracy that can become the basis for proposed changes in democratic governance, especially relevant in autocratized societies. They not only transform states through struggles for policy change, but also express a fundamental critique of conventional politics.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, the growing lack of interest of the European societies\u2019 citizens in participating in political life through traditional instruments of representative democracy has caused a renewed concern of the EU and its member states for the promotion and encouragement of active citizenship. This has resulted in a process of democratic engineering inspired by the principles of the participatory and deliberative conceptions of democracy. Democratic experimentation along these lines, which can be observed in many EU countries, gave rise to the promotion and institutionalization of democratic innovations (public debates, neighborhood councils, citizens\u2019 juries, participatory budgets, etc.). We are currently also witnesses of the EU institutions\u2019 initiative to \u201creinvigorate democracy\u201d at the EU level through participatory innovations organized within The Conference on the Future of Europe, launched in 2021 in Strasbourg.<\/p>\n

The pace and scope of these developments call for a deeper understanding of internal dynamics of both, bottom up and top down democratic experimentation, their social and political impact, both as single case studies, and as parts of a greater cycle of social movement mobilizations and institutional experimentation in the WB region and in Europe.<\/p>\n

Against this background, this Conference aims to strengthen a dialogue between conceptual perspectives, approaches and fields around deliberative and participatory forms of democratic innovations. Theoretical proposals based on empirical cases and\/or reflections, as well case studies are welcome, especially focusing on:<\/p>\n