PANEL 10- Republicanism and social norms
Convenor: João Cruz Ribeiro and Pedro Martins
All inquiries about the panel should be sent to [email protected].
Stuart White will be a discussant in this panel.
As a normative research program, Republicanism allows to solve practical problems from a roughly coherent theoretical core. It has been debated whether and to what extent Republicanism may constitute an alternative to the liberal tradition of political thought. One argument to support the existence of a difference could be the role performed by social norms in the Republican tradition. Indeed, in his seminal work, Pettit acknowledges the relevance of norms in upholding the legal and institutional mechanisms of a community (1997, chapter 8). Furthermore, authors within this tradition tend to refer to and assess the relevance of social norms (Lovett, 2010, Pettit, 2012, 2014, Maynor, 2003). The liberal tradition, by contrast, pays less attention, if any, to this topic.
At first sight, the relationship between Republicanism and social norms may seem obvious. At a closer look, however, things may not be as clear as they appear. A reason for this may be the polysemic character of the concept. Indeed, to illustrate with a relevant example, Pettit seems to use the concept of norm in different senses: sometimes it appears as equivalent to civic virtue (1997, 245); in another context, it appears as policy-making norms (2012); in yet another context, the common knowledge condition associated with non-domination seems to stand on a par with social norms (2014). This may be problematic, depending on the account we adopt regarding social norms. The examples mentioned above seem to conflict with the account developed by Jon Elster, for whom social norms consist of nonconsequentitalist obligations and interdictions (1989, 101).
Therefore, many questions remain open about the exact meaning of the concept of social norms and its use within this tradition of thought. This panel aims at further exploring the theoretical relationship between social norms and Republicanism. We welcome contributions that address, but are not limited to, the following questions:
This panel also intends to discuss Republicanism broadly conceived. Therefore, we invite contributions from researchers engaged with Republicanism in general that wish to present their work.
If you want to apply, please submit an abstract, of 400-500 words along with five keywords, of your paper prepared for peer review by 17 April 2022. We will respond by 28 April 2022. All proposals must be submitted online through our website using the Abstract submission Form (please, click “Submit Abstract” and fill the form).
All inquiries about the panel should be sent to [email protected].
Stuart White will be a discussant in this panel.
As a normative research program, Republicanism allows to solve practical problems from a roughly coherent theoretical core. It has been debated whether and to what extent Republicanism may constitute an alternative to the liberal tradition of political thought. One argument to support the existence of a difference could be the role performed by social norms in the Republican tradition. Indeed, in his seminal work, Pettit acknowledges the relevance of norms in upholding the legal and institutional mechanisms of a community (1997, chapter 8). Furthermore, authors within this tradition tend to refer to and assess the relevance of social norms (Lovett, 2010, Pettit, 2012, 2014, Maynor, 2003). The liberal tradition, by contrast, pays less attention, if any, to this topic.
At first sight, the relationship between Republicanism and social norms may seem obvious. At a closer look, however, things may not be as clear as they appear. A reason for this may be the polysemic character of the concept. Indeed, to illustrate with a relevant example, Pettit seems to use the concept of norm in different senses: sometimes it appears as equivalent to civic virtue (1997, 245); in another context, it appears as policy-making norms (2012); in yet another context, the common knowledge condition associated with non-domination seems to stand on a par with social norms (2014). This may be problematic, depending on the account we adopt regarding social norms. The examples mentioned above seem to conflict with the account developed by Jon Elster, for whom social norms consist of nonconsequentitalist obligations and interdictions (1989, 101).
Therefore, many questions remain open about the exact meaning of the concept of social norms and its use within this tradition of thought. This panel aims at further exploring the theoretical relationship between social norms and Republicanism. We welcome contributions that address, but are not limited to, the following questions:
- Do social norms perform a different function under Republicanism when compared to traditional liberalism?
- Are social norms different, on the one hand, from rules of civic virtue and, on the other, from moral norms?
- Is it useful to distinguish between social norms and other nonlegal norms?
- Is the role of social norms different depending on whether we understand domination in agential terms, as opposed to structural terms?
This panel also intends to discuss Republicanism broadly conceived. Therefore, we invite contributions from researchers engaged with Republicanism in general that wish to present their work.
If you want to apply, please submit an abstract, of 400-500 words along with five keywords, of your paper prepared for peer review by 17 April 2022. We will respond by 28 April 2022. All proposals must be submitted online through our website using the Abstract submission Form (please, click “Submit Abstract” and fill the form).