2019 PPSA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

 

RETHINKING LIBERAL DEMOCRACY

 

 

 

BACKGROUND

 

Liberal democracy is under siege. In every part of the globe, we are witnessing what Cas Mudde termed as illiberal responses to undemocratic liberalism. Close to three decades since the end of the Cold War, the triumphalism that was prematurely heralded as the end of history has now been replaced by Trumpism in its various forms.

 

Populist politicians rode to power on the wave of support from those who felt left behind in the globalization game and the perceived failure of liberal democracy to assert the rule of law. This in turn spurred pessimism towards the liberal world order and fanned the flames of strongman politics.

 

In these times of uncertainty, it behooves one to contemplate and rethink the fate of the formerly dominant liberal order. Are liberal democracies self-destructing? Are key political players deliberately disrupting the old order to build a new one? How and under what conditions do liberal democracies decline?  What are the factors that trigger the resurgence of autocracies? Are there alternatives to liberal democracy and populism? Is there a variety of democracy?

 

These questions have deep implications for democracy studies and the study of democratization in the Philippines and other parts of the world. It is imperative for practitioners of political science and its allied disciplines to rethink democracy beyond liberal democracy.

 

 

CONFERENCE OBJECTIVES AND SUB-THEMES

 

The 2019 PPSA International Conference, which will be held on April 11-12, 2019 in Clark Field, Angeles City, Pampanga, seeks papers that scrutinize the state of liberal democracy in the world: the challenges to liberal democracies; its inadequacies in improving human welfare; the increasingly indistinct lines between facts and faux; the ostensible resurgence of autocracies; and the indispensability of building a new political order. The conference also seeks papers that either assert the necessity of reinstating the tenets of liberal democracy, dispute the notion that it is currently in decline, or propose alternatives to it. Prospective presenters and panelists may submit proposals covering topics that fall under the following sub-themes:

 

·         Challenges to Liberal Democracies

·         Resurgence of Autocracies

·         Principles and Criticisms of Liberalism

·         Geopolitics

·         Politics in the Digital Age

·         Freedom of the Press

·         Politics of Ideas in Changing Societies

·         Politics of Human Rights

·         Issues and Challenges to Secularism

·         Civil Service Reforms and Challenges

·         Social Equality and Discrimination

·         Fragmented Societies

·         Current State of Political Economy

·         Democratic Transitions

·         Interest Groups Politics

·         Civil Society in Illiberal Democracies

·         Elite Dominance

·         Public Policy Studies

·         Politics of Security

·         International Organizations and Domestic Politics

·         Governance and Technology

·         Conflict Transformation

·         Constitutional Continuity and Change

·         Electoral and Party Politics

·         Politics in the Post-Truth Era

·         Democratic Decay

·         Threats and Opportunities in Governance

·         Rethinking Political Philosophies

·         Political Activism

·         Gaming Democracies

·         Transparency and Accountability