Liberalism and Realism Conference

Forthcoming Conference: May 7th 2009, University of Birmingham, UK
Should Political Theory Get Real? Liberalism and the Challenge of Political Realism

Keynote Speakers:
Professor William Galston (The Brookings Institution),
Professor John Horton (Keele University),
Professor Richard Bellamy (University College, London),
Dr. Adam Swift (Oxford University),
Dr. Mark Philp (Oxford University),
Professor Glen Newey (Keele University)

For full conference details go here.
Registration/attendance is free.
Please register at: www.bhamonlineshop.co.uk/events/

Conference Theme
Drawing on Machiavelli, Hobbes, Nietzsche and Arendt, a number of otherwise disparate thinkers advocate a view of politics that is broadly ‘realist’. This view argues that contemporary liberal political philosophy misrepresents ‘the political’ because it fails to appreciate the depth of conflict and disagreement in modern societies. Political realists call for a re-engagement with the political as a distinct sphere of human activity in which vice, conflict, and competition for power are ineradicable. The purpose of this one-day conference is to bring together leading political theorists who share an interest in the nature of the political. It will provide a platform for discussing the merits of the realist critique of liberalism across a diversity of perspectives.

Schedule
10.15-10.45am Coffee/Welcome

Panel 1:
11.00 – 11.30 Prof. John Horton (Keele University) - 'Modus Vivendi and the Question of Political Legitimacy'
11.30 – 12.00 Prof. Richard Bellamy (University College London) - 'Private Virtue, Public Vice: On the Nature of Political Morality'
12.00 – 12.30 Q & A

Panel 2:
1.30 – 2.15 Prof. William Galston (Brookings Institution, USA) - 'Realism in Political Theory'
2.15 – 2.30 Dr. Adam Swift (Oxford University) Discussant
2.30 – 3.15 Q & A

Panel 3:
3.45 – 4.15 Prof. Glen Newey (Keele University) - 'Two Dogmas of Liberalism'
4.15 – 4.45 Dr. Mark Philp (Oxford University) - 'What is to be Done?
Political Theory and the Place of Realism'
4.45 – 5.30 Q & A

For further information please contact:
Dr. Steve Buckler and Dr. Richard North at: ejpt@contacts.bham.ac.uk.
Department of Political Science and International Studies,
University of Birmingham,
Edgbaston,
Birmingham,
B15 2TT