Deadline: 09.03.2007.

Department of Politics, IR and European Studies, Loughborough University, July 27th-28th, 2007 / In conjunction with: The Centre for the Study of International Governance, Loughborough University; the PSA Anarchist Studies Network; CAMPACC; NASPIR; the Haldane Society of Socialist LawyersConfirmed plenary Speakers Professor Bill Bowring (Birkbeck) author of The Degradation Of The International Legal Order: The Rehabilitation Of Law And The Possibility Of Politics (2007); Dr Ben Franks (Glasgow), author of Rebel Alliances: The Means and Ends of Contemporary British Anarchisms (2006); Professor Simon Tormey (Nottingham), author of Anti-Capitalism: A Beginners
Guide (2006)

The curtailment of our civil liberties, the repression and criminalisation of protest and the steady encroachment of the state into civil society challenges the very notion of liberal democracy. Others argue that liberal democracy in fact demands these curtailments. In response grassroots movements have consistently risen to challenge these forces. Conscious of the spiral of insecurity and paranoia that serves only to deepen repression and resistance, this two day conference will analyse political trajectories, the campaigns and movements that seek to counter them, and alternative ideologies and practices that might divert us from this illiberal course.

The workshop will bring academics, campaigners, civil liberty groups and lawyers together to discuss transformations in the nature of governance in contemporary global political community. The conference will draw together analysis of community actions, global networks, campaigns and actions that seek to affirm collective autonomy; actions by which global civil society holds a mirror to illiberal state and corporate forces.

How do we impact upon our governance without entrenching systems of oppression? Who is responsible for fighting for our freedoms when our elected governments are eroding them? Can the (international) legal process provide an adequate response? How do we understand these processes in a global context? These are questions engaged with by the campaigns of CAMPACC, Trident Ploughshares, and many other civil liberties and direct action groups who turn to law to redress political and corporate repression. We need to evaluate the effectiveness of these campaigns, and the structures of global power that oppose them, so that future strategies can be more effective and the core issues can be made transparent.

The relationship of academia to the state has changed significantly in recent years. The American Political Science Association's Caucus for a New Political Science and the British-based Network of Activist Scholars in Politics and IR, arose in the wake of the British state's misuse of doctoral research in the build-up to the Iraq war. What is the role of academia in today's political climate? What is 'responsible' research?

Finally, since many of today's political movements, while not avowedly anarchist, are left-libertarian, in conjunction with the PSA Anarchist Studies Network, our aim is to bring the ideology of anarchism centre-stage to see where and how it might contribute to these debates. Can anarchism help us to see these issues more clearly? Does anarchism provide better blueprints for action? Does anarchism have an adequate conceptualisation of 'the global', law and politics? Or is anarchism outmoded and irrelevant?

If you have ideas for papers or workshops that engage with any of the above topics, please contact Alex Prichard (Loughborough University): a.prichard@lboro.ac.uk. Paper or workshop proposals must be received by April 1st.  Plans are in place to publish the conference proceedings in a leading journal. As this event is funded by a number of bodies, conference fees will be nominal and places limited.