CALL FOR APPLICATIONSFor the 6th edition of the international interdisciplinary conference of political research SCOPE: Science of politics, which will take place at the University of Bucharest (Romania) between the 31st of May and 2nd of June 2019, we invite scholars across different disciplines to submit papers, panels or round table proposals on VALUES IN POLITICS, and treat this general theme from various conceptual, empirical and methodological perspectives, while addressing timely case-studies, especially (but not exclusively) around the following core topics:
PRACTICAL INFORMATION![]() Citizens of non-OECD countries, members of IPSA RC33 and doctoral students irrespective of their country of origin enjoy discounted fee rates. Read more about the VENUE, REGISTRATION PROCEDURES, CALENDAR & FEES and other PRACTICAL INFORMATION. SOCIAL ACTIVITIESAmong the many visiting opportunities available in Bucharest (once nicknamed Little Paris and currently often labelled as Little Berlin particularly for its vibrant nightlife and alternative cultural spaces), the organizers also offer participants guided thematic tours with scholars and practitioners in the field. Read more | KEYNOTES![]() OPENING KEYNOTE Julie SMITH (Baroness Smith of Newnham) Cambridge University Christian W. HAERPFER ![]() World Values Survey Association, University of Vienna & United Arab Emirates University Current President of the World Values Survey Association, Founding Director in 1991 of the Institute for Comparative Survey Research “Eurasia Barometer” in Vienna (Austria), as well as recurrent academic and public policy advisor for the United Nations, UNDP, World Bank, European Commission, EBRD and OECD. His main fields of expertise are the social and political transformations in transitional Post-Soviet and Post-Communist societies; political participation and democracy; social and political capital; support for democracy and other political regimes; and political transition in countries of Middle East and North Africa. Read more
Andrei POAMA
Leiden University
![]() | PROGRAMPROGRAM & LIST OF PARTICIPANTS available HERE An ice-breaking cocktail will be offered Thursday, 30th of May, in the evening to all participants to the KAPUSCINSKI DEVELOPMENT LECTURE BUCHAREST 2019 (National Theatre of Bucharest, Sala Media, 2, N.Bălcescu Blvd.), an event created by the Centre for International Cooperation and Development Studies (IDC), jointly with the European Commission and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), which formally opens the series of events within SCOPE 2019. Due to the limited number of places available at the venue advanced registration to this special event is required at http://bit.do/eSwJj. The event takes place in English and starts at 18:00. SUBMIT A PROPOSAL / ENVOYER UN PROPOSITION(300-500 words abstract / résumé 300-500 mots) (300-500 words abstract, 3-4 paper proposals / résumé 300-500 mots, 3-4 communications) (300-500 words abstract, 3-6 invited speakers / résumé 300-500 mots, 3-6 participants) SPECIAL SESSIONS: THE PROFESSIONEvents on the state of the discipline supported by the International Political Science Association (IPSA) - Research Committee 33 (The Study of Political Science as a Discipline) and the European Confederation of Political Science Associations (ECPSA): Could our fear of values in the pursuit of science actually limit the value of our discipline for society and thus undermine itself? If yes, under which circumstances are we allowed to take sides and how should we do it in order to maintain both scientific and civic integrity? Read more CONTEMPORARY CHALLENGES TO FUNDING FOR POLITICAL RESEARCH Focus on public funding supporting research on democracy, civic education and democratic values. Read more SPECIAL SESSIONS: EUROPEAN ELECTIONS 2019![]() |
BOOK LAUNCHES

DOORENSPLEET, Renske (2019) Rethinking the Value of Democracy: A Comparative Perspective. Palgrave Macmillan.
Presented by:
Renske DOORENSPLEET (University of Warwick, UK)
Matthijs BOGAARDS (Central European University, HUNGARY & AUSTRIA)
Based on extensive analyses of quantitative studies from different disciplines, it explores both the expected beneficial and harmful impact of democracy.
Democracy’s reputation as delivering peace and development while controlling corruption is an important source of its own legitimacy. Yet, as this book acutely demonstrates, the arguments tend to be normatively driven interventions in ideologically charged policy debates.
The book argues that we need neither a utopian framing of democracy as delivering all ‘good things’ in politics nor a cynical one that emphasizes only the ‘dangerous underbelly’ of this form of government.
The author also raises critical questions about the value of the study of democracy: the choice for particular concepts and measures, the unknown mechanisms, and the narrow focus on specific instrumental values.
This volume will be necessary reading for anyone interested in debates on democracy in the contemporary global context.

Presented by
Andrei POAMA (Leiden University, NETHERLANDS)
What does it mean to do public policy ethics today? How should philosophers engage with ethical issues in policy-making when policy decisions are circumscribed by political and pragmatic concerns? How do ethical issues in public policy differ between areas such as foreign policy, criminal justice, or environmental policy?
The Routledge Handbook of Ethics and Public Policy addresses all these questions and more, and is the first handbook of its kind. It is comprised of 41 chapters written by leading international contributors, and is organised into four clear sections covering the following key topics:
- Methodology: philosophical approaches to public policy, ethical expertise, knowledge, and public policy
- Democracy and public policy: identity, integration and inclusion: voting, linguistic policy, discrimination, youth policy, religious toleration, and the family
- Public goods: defence and foreign policy, development and climate change, surveillance and internal security, ethics of welfare, healthcare and fair trade, sovereignty and territorial boundaries, and the ethics of nudging
- Public policy challenges: criminal justice, policing, taxation, poverty, disability, reparation, and ethics of death policies.

Presented by
Paulo RAVECCA (Universidad de la República, URUGUAY)In this thought-provoking book, Paulo Ravecca presents a series of interlocking studies on the politics of political science in the Americas.
Focusing mainly on the cases of Chile and Uruguay, Ravecca employs different strands of critical theory to challenge the mainstream narrative about the development of the discipline in the region, emphasizing its ideological aspects and demonstrating how the discipline itself has been shaped by power relations. Ravecca metaphorically charts the (non-linear) transit from “cold” to “warm” to “hot” intellectual temperatures to illustrate his—alternative—narrative. Beginning with a detailed quantitative study of three regional academic journals, moving to the analysis of the role of subjectivity (and political trauma) in academia and its discourse in relation to the dictatorships in Chile and Uruguay, and arriving finally at an intimate meditation on the experience of being a queer scholar in the Latin American academy of the 21st century, Ravecca guides his readers through differing explorations, languages, and methods.
The volume offers an essential reflection on both the relationship between knowledge and politics and the political and ethical role of the scholar today, demonstrating how the study of the politics of knowledge deepens our understanding of the politics of our times.
Focusing mainly on the cases of Chile and Uruguay, Ravecca employs different strands of critical theory to challenge the mainstream narrative about the development of the discipline in the region, emphasizing its ideological aspects and demonstrating how the discipline itself has been shaped by power relations. Ravecca metaphorically charts the (non-linear) transit from “cold” to “warm” to “hot” intellectual temperatures to illustrate his—alternative—narrative. Beginning with a detailed quantitative study of three regional academic journals, moving to the analysis of the role of subjectivity (and political trauma) in academia and its discourse in relation to the dictatorships in Chile and Uruguay, and arriving finally at an intimate meditation on the experience of being a queer scholar in the Latin American academy of the 21st century, Ravecca guides his readers through differing explorations, languages, and methods.
The volume offers an essential reflection on both the relationship between knowledge and politics and the political and ethical role of the scholar today, demonstrating how the study of the politics of knowledge deepens our understanding of the politics of our times.