Debate on Conflict and Democracy

Organised by the Evens Foundation, in partnership with the British Academy, this debate brings together philosophers, political scientists and sociologists to discuss the status and place of conflict in contemporary democratic practices and institutions. The speakers will delineate the conflicts that structure our societies, new political identities, and forms of contestation, and reflect on the institutions/spaces/practices needed to deal with these conflicts and struggles.

The debate seeks to tackle issues such as:

• If conflicts are constituent of our collective lives, how do we minimize the escalation of divisions into violent confrontations, or severe social polarisation?
• How do our current democratic practices integrate and settle conflict and dissent?
• How can we conceive of forms that will allow public disagreements – some of them irreconcilable – to be legitimately expressed and confronted?
• How can conflict be transformed into a productive force, and what are the conditions for true dialogue to take place? And
• If we were to re-politicise our democratic lives, what normative bases should we agree upon?

Professor Colin Crouch FBA (University of Warwick) will chair the panel, which will include Srecko Horvat (DiEM25), Professor Tariq Modood FBA (University of Bristol), Professor Saskia Sassen (Columbia University), and Dr Paulina Tambakaki (University of Westminster).

Pre-registration is required.

 

 

For further details, please see the source article here.