Call for Papers: Deadline by February 10, 2024

The School of Law, University of Nicosia, in collaboration with the Themistocles and Dimitris Tsatsos Foundation – Centre for European Constitutional Law (CECL) invite submission of abstracts for an international conference on “Militant Democracy and Constitutionalism. Do procedural aspects of democracy affect its substance?”. The conference will be held in Nicosia on June 3-4, 2024.

The conference will be held in memoriam of Alecos Markides (1943-2020), former Attorney General of the Republic of Cyprus.

Prof. Anthoula Malkopoulou, Associate Professor of Political Theory, Upsalla University will deliver a keynote speech to the Conference.

Subject-Matter of Conference

Militant democracy, a concept coined in 1930s, refers to restrictive measures undertaken by governments aiming at people who contest or question fundamental democratic institutions. In a militant democracy there would be preventive measures and actions against persons who may work, behave and/or protest within the limits of the rule of law, but intent or try to undermine democratic processes. Militant democracy legitimizes restrictions against people who could threaten national security, freedoms, elections and/or promote ideologies or political doctrines that militate against democracy. Traditionally, the theory and practice of militant democracy were discussed in the German-speaking literature. In early 2000s however, the concept of militant democracy got the attention of western scholars, amid the so-called war on terror. That “war” entailed human rights restrictions and limitations on fundamental liberties. More recent systemic crises, such as the economic/financial crisis in the US and Europe in 2008, as well as coronavirus pandemic in 2020, revealed new facets of militant democracy at a global level.

Paper contributors must assess theoretical and/or practical manifestations and implications of militant democracy such as:

• What is “militant” in militant democracy?
• Do democratic constitutions entail militant democracy?
• Is militant democracy unavoidable?
• Militant democracy, populism and extremism.
• Political parties, elections and militant democracy.
• Should far right/far left/far ecological movements be accommodated or ostracised in democratic societies?
• Militant democracy and limitations of fundamental human rights.
• Militant democracy and the limits of democratic tolerance.
• In defense of militant democracy.
• Defensive, preventive and offensive democracy.
• Do western societies lapse into militant democracy?

Submission Instructions

Interested scholars/researchers should email an abstract no longer than 500 words by February 10, 2024 to: papastylianos.c@unic.ac.cy and emilianides.a@unic.ac.cy. Papers must be presented in English. Scholars are encouraged to identify their submission with the following subject line: “Militant Democracy Conference – Abstract Submission”.

Notification

Scholars whose abstract has been accepted will be notified no later than February 28, 2024.

Costs

There are no fees to participate in this Conference. Participants are, however, responsible for securing their own funding for travel and lodging.

Publication of papers

Selected papers from the conference will be published in an edited volume.

Inquiries

Please direct inquiries in connection with this Conference to:

Dr. Christos Papastylianos (papastylianos.c@unic.ac.cy).