Critical Perspectives on Republicanism and Democracy

Abstract

This panel brings together papers that seek to re-examine and interrogate the core principles of republican political theory, extending them to new political subjects and new domains of decision-making. The initial wave of republican studies has been increasingly criticised for its neglect of the economic and social aspects of domination; for uncritically accepting the structures of liberal democracy and for its reliance on a historical narrative that excludes non-Western and more modern instantiations of republicanism. This panel will bring together these emerging critical perspectives and will examine a number of key questions: - Should republicans fear or embrace 'populism'? - What, if anything, does republicanism add to traditional liberal models of constitutionalism? - What does republicanism have to say about the political rights of undocumented migrants, refugees, temporary workers and other migrants? - Are border controls a legitimate expression of popular sovereignty or an unjust source of arbitrary power? - How have republican themes been developed and interpreted within non-Western intellectual traditions? - How can republican principles inform a critique of international, supra-national and global political institutions? - How does the republican ideal of non-domination illuminate forms of oppression rooted in social identity? - How does republican non-domination relate to insights from critical theory and post-structuralism?