Call for Papers: in Workshop: “Democracy between regression, resilience and vitality”, June 19-20, 2025

Workshop: “Democracy between regression, resilience and vitality”

The Department of Political Science, Law, and International Studies (SPGI) at the University of Padova is pleased to announce a workshop on “Democracy between regression, resilience and vitality” to be held on June 19-20, 2025.

We invite submissions from scholars at all career stages working on topics related to democracy. We especially encourage outstanding graduate students, PhD candidates, postdoctoral researchers, and early-career scholars to apply. We strive towards diversity, equity, and inclusion across participants.

Keynote Speaker:

We are honoured to host world-renowned scholar Professor John Dryzek, who will deliver a guest lecture on cutting-edge issues in deliberative democracy. Workshop Structure:

• Keynote lecture by Professor John Dryzek: Democratic Resilience for Diabolical Times

• Three sessions for presentation and discussion of ongoing work (19th afternoon, 2 sessions – 20th morning, 1 session)

• Comments and feedback by Professor Paolo Graziano

• Concluding remarks by dr. Andrea Felicetti

Topics of Interest:

We welcome papers addressing, but not limited to:

• Democratic resilience and change in the face of authoritarianism

• The rise of new technologies (e.g., genome editing, AI), their relationship with and impact on democracy • Challenges and opportunities for democratic futures

Submission Guidelines:

• Abstract of max. 250 words

• Brief bio (100 words)

• Deadline for application submission: March 21st

• Draft papers due by: May 26th

Selected participants will have the opportunity to present their work and receive valuable feedback from peers and established scholars.

Limited funding is also available to support travel by train and one night’s accommodation. Priority will be given to students and junior scholars. This workshop is partially supported by the BIRD project “Democratizing the Governance of Genome Editing in Europe” and by the Network for the Study of Democracies (NeSDe).

Please submit your abstracts and inquiries to: [email protected]