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Call for Papers "Ethics and National Security" Interdisciplinary Symposium Ethics Centre, Saint Paul University Ottawa, ON (Canada) 25-27 October __________________________________________________ The specific relationship between Ethics and National Security is increasingly important for International Relations. States that ignore this relationship often imperil their own security. But it is a difficult relationship to understand because of its dynamism and mounting complexity. The concept nation-state has blurred since many states now have both physical and virtual components. Moreover, the global order has broadened beyond inter-state relations as non-state collectivities exert increasing influence. This raises numerous ethical and security problems since non-state collectivities are defined by a variety of interests such as corporate, cultural, environmental, feminist, health, indigenous peoples, human rights, media and political, and they pursue their respective interests in a wide variety of ways. Finally, even to define Security raises controversial questions, such as what is to be secured? for whom and against whom? what measures are justified in pursuing security and for how long? Such questions demand the close examination of held values, since people secure that which they value. Articulating values is one of the key tasks of any ethical investigation. Despite the difficulties, one fact is clear: choices must be made. How state and non-state collectivities define terms like Ethics and Security will not only determine the manner in which such collectivities react to conflicts and crises, but how their antecedent actions in fact precipitateor inhibitconflicts and crises on any scale. The goal of this conference is to bring together a broad audience of academics, policy analysts and government officials, to debate theoretical issues, analyze existing approaches to the relationship between Ethics and Security as well as to break new ground in terms of alternative approaches and further paths of research. The proceedings of the conference will be published by the Saint Paul Ethics Centre in a peer-reviewed volume. Possible Topics - Defining Security in various contexts: the information-based world, virtual nation-states, the post 9/11 era of fear, the broadened world order - The influence of ethics on national security policy - The influence of culture on ethics and security issues - Measuring ethical performance in a changing security environment - The ethics agenda in times of change - The role of ethics in a contemporary conflict environment - The role of culture, society and ethics in peace operations - Health and security: spread of infectious diseases, bioterrorism - National security and privacy rights - National security and public perception of it - The scope of securityfrom securing borders to affecting individual rights - Security and the environment - Security as a control mechanism: the curtailing of dissent - Security and indigenous peoples - Security and the rights of women - Security and the evolving nature of peace-keeping Other, related topics are welcome. Please send an abstract, maximum length of 800 words. by June 22, 2007. Successful applicants will be informed via email by July 16, 2007. For further information on the conference theme, its structure, travel and accommodation, and more, please check the conference website regularly at: http://www.ustpaul.ca/symposium2007/ Contact: Dr. Richard Feist Dean Faculty of Philosophy St. Paul University 223 Main Street Ottawa, ON K1S 1C4 Canada Phone: +1 (613) 236-1393 ext. 2459 Email: [email protected] Web: http://www.ustpaul.ca/symposium2007/ __________________________________________________ InterPhil List Administration: http://interphil.polylog.org Intercultural Philosophy Calendar: http://cal.polylog.org
