CfP: Liberalism and Social Democracy: A failed marriage?

Online journal Re-public invites contributions for its upcoming special issue entitled Liberalism and Social Democracy: A failed marriage?. Whether "traditional" social democracy is proclaimed dead, still surviving, or mutated, what has happened to it in the post-Cold war era is its encounter with liberalism. All attempts to renovate social democracy –the Third way, the social-democratic version of participatory democracy - have necessarily, albeit in different ways, engaged with the liberal tradition.

The debate on the outcomes of this encounter is multi-fold: to the argument that liberal injections to the social democratic tradition have been insufficient others have replied that liberalism has strangled traditional social democratic values, and yet others that the marriage has been a happy one, contributing to the reinvigoration of social democracy. The special issue aims to re-visit this debate, refraining though from generalised conclusions. The attempt, instead, will be to explore how contemporary social democracy can deal with liberal principles in relation to concrete socio-political problems.

Essays should be approximately 1.500 words long. Please submit contributions in any electronic format to: papoulias AT re-public.gr

Deadline for articles: 28 February 2008