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Civility and Its Discontents

Citizenship
Civil Society
Contentious Politics
Democracy
Political Theory
Ethics
Liberalism
Normative Theory
P076
Suzanne Whitten
Queen's University Belfast
Jonathan Seglow
Royal Holloway, University of London

Building: Newman Building, Floor: 1, Room: A105

Monday 14:00 - 15:45 BST (12/08/2024)

Abstract

The ideal of ‘civility’, according to Cheshire Calhoun, is thought by many to be a "basic virtue of social life" (2000: 251). For many who share in this opinion, liberal democracy itself would not survive were it not for the existence of a set of robust, shared behavioural practices guiding both our everyday interactions with one another and our political deliberations. While it is recognised that practices that qualify as ‘civil’ vary widely across place, time, and culture, defenders of the ideal argue that they serve an important function as ways in which citizens can express respect for one another’s equal standing. These practices are thought to be all the more important in the large, plural societies of today. Here civility allows individuals living in diverse societies to live alongside one another in relative harmony by assuring them that those they come into contact with respect their equal standing. Norms of civility, then, provide a shared language of mutual respect, without which the necessary interactions central to common citizenship would not be successful.

Title Details
Agonistic Respect and the Labour of Civility View Paper Details
The Ethics of Incivility View Paper Details
Political Vulgarity and the Limits of Uncivil Contestation View Paper Details
Making Feminist Sense of the "Free Speech Wars" in Britain View Paper Details