Tuesday, July 14, 2015

CFP: Does Democracy Translate across Borders?

[We have the following call for papers.]

America has long promoted democracy as the optimal political system for all nations.  Is this right? Does democracy have the same effect in other parts of the world, is it a good fit for some but a catalyst for destruction in others?

The Spring 2016 edition of the Saint Louis University Public Law Review will be centered around the question, “Does democracy translate across borders?” The purpose of this edition will be to explore and examine democratic experiments – to see where and how democracy succeeds, and where and why it doesn’t. What factors boost or hinder democracy’s success? What impacts does it have on the people and institutions of a nation? We will be seeking articles concerning a wide range of topics relating to the idea of comparing democracies, from the “Arab Spring” movement to questioning the Western foreign policy of selling democracy to developing countries; from post-Colonial political movements in Africa to the effects of austerity measures within the European Union.

By stirring the debate about democracy, we hope to further our publication’s mission of providing a forum to discuss the “ethical dilemmas underlying social current issues.”  If interested in writing for the volume, please submit an abstract to the Spring Managing Editor, Claire Kates, at katesc@slu.edu, no later than August 10, 2015.