The Participatory and Deliberative Democracy Specialist Group will host a section of panels at next year’s PSA 2024 Annual Conference with the theme, “AFTER (NEO-) LIBERALISM: TOWARDS AN ALTERNATIVE PARADIGM?” The conference will be convened by the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow and held from 25-27 March 2024. This year, PSA has offered the opportunity to Specialist Groups to open the Call for submission ahead of the general call so we can put together our panels. We’re very much looking forward to receiving your proposals by 12noon on 12th September 2023, deadline has been extended.
The topic of this year’s PSA general conference –‘After (Neo-)Liberalism: towards an alternative paradigm’ – signals the need to assess the opportunities and challenges for the future of democracy. Can participatory and deliberative participation help to imagine new and alternative paradigms after (neo)-liberalism?
As PDD, we are particularly interested in submissions that discuss the way ahead in participatory and deliberative procedures and to explore, for example, the following questions: How can a participatory culture be embedded in the current challenging political landscape of (neo)-liberalism? What are the main challenges that participatory and deliberative procedures have to face? How can participatory procedures enhance democratic norms and solidify democratic ideals? Which risks are they confronted with in today’s turbulent times?
We welcome panels and papers with theoretical, comparative and/or empirical perspectives on these questions. We invite proposals of full panels or individual papers on participatory and deliberative democracy to be submitted by 5th September 2023. Individual papers will be organised into panels.
Full panel proposals are strongly encouraged. We are also happy to consider roundtables, workshops and other formats.
Panel and paper proposals should be addressing problems and discussions concerning participatory and deliberative democracy after (neo-)liberalism. Topics of interest might include, but are not limited to:
- Democratic responses to the climate change crisis / ecological breakdown
- Neoliberalism and its connection to the climate crisis – and possible alternatives
- The environment, non-humans and future generations as participants
- Democratic innovations and forms of institutionalised participation, representative democratic institutions
- Participatory governance, public policy, and participatory bureaucracy
- Decoloniality and participatory/deliberative democracy
- Decolonising perspectives on contemporary crises, e.g. on the climate emergency, and potential participatory/deliberative strategies for tacklicking them
- Radical democracy and agonistic democratic theory, socialist/anarchist conceptions of participatory democracy
- Social movements and deliberation/participation
- Methodological innovations in participatory/deliberative democracy
- Digital deliberation and participation/Online consultations
We encourage panel proposals that reflect the diversity of our field and refer to contemporary and/or future challenges that participatory/deliberative democracy must deal with. We would be grateful if you could ensure that the panels you submit are as diverse as possible in order to correspond to the PSA’s EDI goals. All male panels will not be considered. We encourage applications from PhD students and early career researchers, although the PSA does not accept panels comprising entirely of PhD students. Please note that the PSA executive committee has asked specialist group convenors to communicate to their members that PSA2024 will be held as an in-person only conference.
To submit an individual paper proposal, please prepare an abstract of up to 300 words along with the author’s affiliation and email address. To submit a panel proposal, please prepare abstracts of three or four papers (max. 300 words each), along with a panel title and brief description (max. 300 words) and details of the proposed panel chair (discussants are optional). Please, include all email addresses of paper givers, chairs, and discussants.
Please submit your proposals by completing the submission form which can be accessed here by 12noon on 12th September 2023, deadline has been extended. DO NOT submit your proposals simultaneously to the PSA; we will collate and process the PDD panels. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us via email: psademocracy@gmail.com
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