Law and Citizenship Beyond the States

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Does the law at the present time still contribute to the production of citizens’ power? Starting from this question, we aim to focus on the institutional conditions enabling individuals to participate effectively in the construction of the communities to which they belong, whether by the means of their own agency, by establishing relationships of cooperation or by forming organized groups. Indeed, these conditions are experiencing profound changes, at a time when communities below and above the states are gaining relevance; ie communities which assume themselves somehow to be complementary or even an alternative to the states. The current process of Europeanization is an obvious example of this trend. This meeting aims at promoting discussion of the challenges that such changes bring for the plural set of norms constituent of these institutional conditions. It is our conviction that the sociology of law and justice has a key role to play in the analysis and debate of these issues which are of the utmost importance for democracy.

Specific topics devolving from this main topic could include:

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- The lay perception of law and rights and of their possible mobilization within and beyond state level;

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- The role, in this mobilization of law and rights, of collective players of all kind – e. g., going beyond states, to NGOs, corporations, and social movements active in regional and global arenas;

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- The role, today, of the legal professions, in particular through their participation in the design of new ways of using law and rights, in the legal education of lay citizens – addressing notably new developments of regional and international law –, and through the formation of regional and global epistemic communities;

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- The potential of interaction, from the local to the global level, between legal professions and other epistemic communities, such as artists, scientists, journalists, IT-specialists, in the development of new cultural tools likely to empower citizens;

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- Recent transformations of social norms, at all levels, as a result of, on the one hand, the managerial approach which shapes public policies as well as corporate strategies, and, on the other hand, of new forms of common sense linked to bottom up social dynamics;

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- The changes in the conditions of the debate in normative issues, now that we are learning to use new media and to deal with new mechanisms of production, circulation and manipulation of information.

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The topic of the Meeting is conceived as complementary to that of the Toronto ISA World Congress, “Power, Violence and Justice: Reflections, Responses and Responsibilities”. Arguably, the Toronto topic places the emphasis on the potential violence inherent in all human relationship, a historical response to which was the development of state power mechanisms, and of means to attend to those who suffered violent and unjust treatment. The Lisbon topic places the emphasis on the drive towards acting together which is also inherent in all human relationships. The institutionalization of this is one integrating factor for all forms of social groupings, including the modern forms, such as nation states. Both topics urgently need to be    revisited, given  the current evolution of world society, and the changing role of the states within it.

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It is planned to offer interested authors the opportunity to publish final versions of their papers after the Meeting, taking advantage of the electronic publication series of the organizing entities.

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The organizers of the Meeting also welcome any session and paper proposals on other relevant issues in the sociology of law and justice.

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Abstract proposals for sessions and papers should be submitted, in English or Portuguese, using the form available on this site, from 15 October to 15 December 2017.

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Lisbon, 15 October 2017