Report on Workshop 24 : Republican Theory, Republican Practice Directors: Iseult Honohan, Jeremy Jennings.

This workshop sought to confront normative theory with historical and comparative analysis in order to explore the claim that republican theory can address contemporary political problems in ways that are both useful and significantly different in practice from liberalism. The fifteen papers presented ranged in approach from conceptual analysis to policy studies, and in context from Ireland to Central and Eastern Europe. The first session established the central concerns - freedom and the common good and the contested nature of republicanism. Per Mouritsen outlined an historically informed typology, demonstrating the variety of ways in which liberty and civic engagement can be interpreted and combined in the context of a broadly instrumental approach. Angel Rivero's paper offered a more sceptical approach to the contemporary republican revival as exemplified in Agnes Heller's civic humanist, participatory politics, focusing on the implicit danger of majority tyranny in diverse societies. While the precise connection between historical ideas and contemporary arguments is a matter of debate, historical analysis has played an important role in the republican revival. Four papers considered historical expressions of republican thought. Duncan Kelly showed how republican thought persisted in nineteenth century Britain, rather than being submerged by liberalism or utilitarianism; while the principle of representation was embraced, the importance of civic character was a recurrent theme. Two of the historical papers examined the resources provided by French republican practice, often overlooked by normative political theorists. Jeremy Jennings traced the development of a more practical French republican ideology after 1848 and in the 1870s, which emphasised education rather than economic equality, rights rather than virtue, solidarity rather than fraternity, and restraint on executive power rather than direct popular sovereignty. Pierre Yves Baudot's paper critically explored the idea of a specifically republican (and rational) form of public ceremonial, and the extent to which this was exemplified in the funeral ceremonies for 'great men' from the Third Republic onwards. Moving to another national context, Mark McNally identified the elements of a liberal republican theory in Sean O Faolain's critique of the programme for a Catholic and Gaelicised communitarian republic in mid-twentieth century Ireland. The nature and source of trust and solidarity inclining citizens to support the common good emerged as an important theme. Francisco Herreros combined a game-theoretic approach with insights from historical theorists to argue that the trust necessary for representative politics is not a substitute for, but is strengthened by, information on the character of politicians. Laura Andronache critically examined the accounts of solidarity found in Viroli, Pettit and Arendt, concluding that none of these fully succeeds in describing a form of solidarity that is simultaneously thick enough to unite citizens effectively and thin enough to guarantee tolerance. Iseult Honohan's paper on education for citizenship emphasised the distinction, often overlooked in practice, between promoting civic solidarity through education in interdependence and responsibility, and constructing cultural identity through common schooling and curriculum.

Contemporary republican theory is frequently seen as insufficiently specific about the political institutions it entails. Two papers addressed this concern. John Maynor argued that securing freedom as non-domination in a plural society requires contestatory institutions that actively consult citizens, promote deliberation and review the exercise of power. John Schwarzmantel outlined a more transformative view of republican politics, detached from its liberal connections, creating new political spaces and addressing socio-economic inequalities in order to empower citizens. Two papers addressed more specific policy implications of republican thought. Valrie Sala Pala compared housing policy for ethnic minorities in Britain and France. She demonstrated how elements of convergence in policy outcomes have been negotiated through differing pluralist and republican discourses, one explicitly addressing, the other avoiding, issues of ethnicity. Margo Trappenburg addressed the widespread practice among ethnic minority citizens in the Netherlands of choosing marriage partners from their country of origin, and critically explored the normative positions that liberals and republicans might adopt towards measures to limit such practices. Finally, two papers extended the scope of republican ideas beyond the arena of the nation-state, arguing that accounts of mixed government can contribute positively to the problems of constructing a polity in the European Union. Richard Bellamy proposed a republican system of dispersal of power, or 'pre-sovereignty', as a better response to the thorny issue of conflicting sovereignties than a rights-based postsovereignty. The paper by Kostas Lavdas (with Dimitris Chryssochoou) stressed the democratic element of mixed government, arguing for the need for a more extensive, if thin, public space through which to unite citizens in a European demos. Discussions highlighted the many strands and continuing development of republicanism; and confirmed that the conception of freedom in the contemporary instrumental account is shared with many liberals, and works within a broadly liberal framework. Yet the distinctive role of the common good and solidarity distinguishes republicanism from liberalism. A number of challenges for republicanism were identified as needing further examination, including the socio-economic conditions for republican politics, and its capacity to deal with large numbers in national and transnational polities. In view of the constructive exchanges elicited by the papers, the participants agreed to pursue the revision of papers for a volume in the ECPR/Routledge series, to be edited by the workshop directors. Iseult Honohan May 2003