Many political philosophers theorise not only for the sake of pure theory, but also because they want to convince citizens and policymakers to bring about changes in the real world. 

Such policy-oriented research often draws on interdisciplinary methods, integrating empirical insights and normative and conceptual arguments. This, however, raises methodological challenges of its own. For example, how to deal with the fact that the social sciences are fragmented and different disciplines work with different paradigms and methodologies? How can philosophers, who bring their own normative assumptions openly to the table, deal with the - sometimes implicit - normativity that is also inherent in many other lines of research? What level of abstraction of normative arguments, eg basic normative theories or mid-level overlapping principles, should philosophers draw on when discussing with policymakers? And how to deal with the fact that in the current political climate in many countries, distrust towards "experts" also extends to philosophers?

In this workshop, we address these and related questions through two kinds of formats:

1. Sessions on methodological challenges encountered in policy-oriented political philosophy, with slots reserved for doctoral students and early career scholars. 
2. A public roundtable on the current challenges of bringing political philosophy into public and policy discourses.

Call for abstracts

This is an open call, and we are happy to receive proposals from people at all career levels. However, slots will be reserved for doctoral students and early career researchers working in policy-oriented political philosophy, broadly understood.

Abstracts of 300-400 words are invited. The abstracts should outline a methodological problem that has been encountered in your work, in particular when it comes to the integration of empirical scholarship into theorising. Please indicate your level of seniority. Selected participants will be invited to give a 15-minute presentation at the workshop, followed by a Q&A. 

Please name your file 'PPP workshop + your name(s)' and ensure the file size does not exceed 16MB. Please submit your abstract using the form below.

Deadline: 20 December 2024 
Notification by: 31 January 2025