{"id":13244,"date":"2025-11-24T13:08:08","date_gmt":"2025-11-24T12:08:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zastone.ba\/?p=13244"},"modified":"2025-11-24T13:15:34","modified_gmt":"2025-11-24T12:15:34","slug":"call-for-papers-for-the-3rd-sos4democracy-conference-resilience-resistance-renewal-rethinking-democratic-politics-in-times-of-war-and-emergency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zastone.ba\/en\/call-for-papers-for-the-3rd-sos4democracy-conference-resilience-resistance-renewal-rethinking-democratic-politics-in-times-of-war-and-emergency\/","title":{"rendered":"Call for Papers for the 3rd SOS4Democracy Conference: \u201cResilience, Resistance, Renewal: Rethinking Democratic Politics in Times of War and Emergency"},"content":{"rendered":"

Venue:<\/strong> Bo\u011fazi\u00e7i University, Istanbul, Turkey<\/span><\/p>\n

Dates:<\/strong> 24 – 26 June 2026<\/span><\/p>\n

Abstract submission deadline:<\/strong> 15 February 2026<\/span><\/p>\n

Call for papers<\/b><\/h3>\n

We invite you to submit an abstract to our third annual conference, \u201c<\/span>Resilience, Resistance, Renewal: Rethinking Democratic Politics in Times of War and Emergency<\/b>\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

Themes:<\/b><\/h3>\n

While scholars disagree on whether the current moment constitutes a global wave of autocratization, there is little doubt that democratic politics is undergoing one of its deepest crises in decades. Across regions, states are experiencing <\/span>democratic erosion, illiberal turns, <\/b>and, in some cases, <\/span>full-scale democratic breakdowns<\/b>. The proliferation of new forms of <\/span>securitization, criminalization, and emergency governance across democracies, <\/b>visible in the repression of pro-Palestine protests, labor and feminist struggles, climate activism, migrants, and other vulnerable groups, as well as assaults on university autonomy and academic freedoms, reveals that this crisis puts into question the long-established assumptions about the strength and consolidation of democratic politics. They also show that the current crisis of democracy is deeply entangled with multiple global emergencies: the genocide in Gaza, the war in Ukraine, the climate crisis, inequalities and contradictions of global capitalism, and a rapidly escalating landscape of <\/span>geopolitical rivalry, militarization, <\/b>and<\/span> deteriorating international law. <\/b>A critical dimension of these transformations lies in the <\/span>ambivalent role of law<\/b>. Legal frameworks and institutions have increasingly become instruments for <\/span>producing, legitimizing, and normalizing autocratization<\/b> through emergency decrees, constitutional change, and the weaponization of legality. Strong states have exploited the cracks in the international legal architecture or blatantly disregarded it to wage wars and anti-minority violence with virtual impunity. Yet, law also remains a <\/span>site of contestation and resistance<\/b>, mobilized by civil society, opposition parties, and transnational actors to <\/span>challenge authoritarian encroachments<\/b>, defend fundamental rights, struggle for justice and peace, and envision new democratic horizons.<\/span><\/p>\n

This conference seeks to explore how democracy can be <\/span>sustained, reimagined, and renewed<\/b> amid these overlapping crises, authoritarian assaults, and resurging international violence. What forms of <\/span>democratic resilience<\/b> and <\/span>resistance <\/b>are emerging in response to these challenges and what are their possibilities as geopolitical interestes marginalize democratic norms and human rights in international politics more than ever? Which <\/span>actors, institutions, and conditions<\/b> foster resilience and enable resistance and what role law plays in these processes? How can these efforts be channelled into a <\/span>politics of democratic renewal and transformation<\/b>? What role do <\/span>collective memories<\/b> of war, repression, struggle, and liberation play in shaping new democratic imaginaries? And how might <\/span>global solidarity and international institutions<\/b> contribute to defending democracy amid the breakdown of international law and human rights in the wake of Gaza, Ukraine, and beyond?<\/span><\/p>\n

We invite contributions from across disciplines and regions that address these and other questions through empirical, theoretical, and historical perspectives. Possible themes include:<\/span><\/p>\n