Conceptual Politics of Democracy Promotion

This workshop, attached to a wider book project, is motivated by the belief that it is not only in principle important to keep a more open mind regarding the meaning of democracy – we should hold on to a more democratic perspective in defining democracy – but also that it is practically necessary to do so. Conceptual politics – the ways in which contested concepts like democracy are interpreted, used and fought over by political actors – are a fundamental dimension of international relations and should not be ignored.

This workshop seeks to examine a variety of different aspects of the conceptual politics of democracy promotion, to do with definitions of democracy worked with, histories of democracy told, conceptions of ethical justifications accepted and modes of dealing with practical problems conceptualised. The aim of this workshop is to explore a variety of complexities and tensions in democracy promotion given rise to by conceptual underpinnings of it. In so doing the aim is to examine the intersection between the theoretical and conceptual issues and the practical challenges and problems of democracy promotion. This workshop, bringing together a set of leading scholars working on democracy, looks then to problematise and reassess the central conceptual and theoretical dimensions that help shape democracy promotion practices.