Call for Panels

Conference of the Italian Political Science Society (SISP) – Section ‘Politics and Religion’

Florence (Italy), 12-14 September 2013

http://www.sisp.it/convegno

Deadline: 20 March 2013

To propose a panel, send an abstract of about 200 words to Prof. Piero Ignazi (piero.ignazi@unibo.it) and Prof. Damiano Palano (damiano.palano@unicatt.it).

After the so-called ‘revenge of God’ (according to the definition proposed by Gilles Kepel) taking place in the last decades of the 20th century, the relation between politics and religion has been a crucial variable to understand the contemporary world. This is true both at the domestic level, with religious values and actors (churches, but also organizations, movements and parties) influencing public debates and public policies; as well as at the international level, where – especially after 9/11 – the religious factor has been relevant in orienting global relations. This section will take into account such issues, by including panels – both in Italian and in English – dedicated to the relation between politics and religion according to different points of view and methodological perspectives. To begin with, the section will tackle the issue related to the role of religion within representative democracies, taking into account both the opportunities and the risks this latter can engender. To do so, we will analyze on the one hand the role played by collective identities, within phenomena such as religiously oriented parties and movements; but also, in quantitative terms, the role played in voting dynamics by the religious factor. We will also not neglect this latter’s influence on non democratic regimes: both theocratic polities, and authoritarian regimes relying on the sacred as a source of legitimacy. The section will also accept panels taking into account the influence of religion on more specific features of the political process, such as policy-making and political communication. Moreover, the section will analyze the role of the confessional factor at the international level, first of all under a theoretical point of view, by taking into account the role (to date mostly neglected) that religion can play in the development of the international relations theory and, at the empirical level, its actual influence on foreign policies as well as on global processes such as globalization and new media development. We will also accept panels devoted to transnational religious actors (churches, movements, and diaspora religious organizations), which are playing an increasingly relevant role in influencing the relations among nation-states.