*CFP* "DEMOCRACY AND/OR POPULISM: EXCLUSION, EQUALITY AND DISAGREEMENT", 2020 CONFERENCE

Democracy and/or Populism

Exclusion, Equality and Disagreement

7th- 9th September 2020

University of Brighton, UK

This conference invites reflection on the relationship between Democracy and Populism; and consideration of new developments in democratic theory and politics in the 21stcentury. This is all the more pertinent in light of the extraordinary intervention of states across the globe in response to CV19. In this light we explore two related areas of critical thought and politics.

Populism is at the centre of contemporary political, critical and democratic debate. Is the demosdistinct from the populus? Is populism a necessary element of democratic politics or merely the perverse shadow of capitalism? Does populism open space for democratic renewal or is populism of necessity exclusionary and racist? Has neoliberalism spawned a right-wing and racist populist politics?

How has the spread of CV19 across the globe changed our understanding of the role of states? What do these developments mean for a bio-politics of population? Does the extension of state control over the people in response to a public health emergency extend or limit democratic politics? IS COVID 19 the end of neoliberal politics or will it result in the resurgence of populism?

The conference calls for papers that see the potential for democratic renewal despite the emergence of reactionary populism across the globe.

Topics for consideration include (but are by no means limited to) the following:

• Populism versus Democracy?
• The Democratic consequence of COVID 19.
• COVID 19 and the Bio-politics of Population
• Transnational Populisms: From the Philippines to the US
• Racism and Populism
• New developments in democratic thought
• The Gendered Politics of Populism
• Democratic Politics and Climate Crisis
• Digital technologies: articulating a new people?
• Populism, Democracy and Viruses
• The Politics of Truth: Populism, Democracy and COVID 19

A number of bursaries are available to support scholars from outside the Global North who would otherwise be unable to attend. Please send abstracts to PopulismConference@brighton.ac.uk by 15th of June 2020. Fees: £150 (Full Rate) / £100 (Reduced/Unwaged)