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Call for Papers "The International Human Rights Regime Since 9/11: Trans-Atlantic Perspectives" International Conference University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, PA (USA) 17-19 April 2008 __________________________________________________ The terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 in the United States and subsequent attacks in Madrid and London have made combating terrorism a chief priority of American and European governments. Some of the policies those governments have adopted raise serious human rights concerns including detention and interrogation practices and "pre- emptive" military action. It is easy to conclude from such practices that the events and aftermath of 9/11 have created a severe shock to the international human rights regime. Despite the obvious and important concerns these new policies raise, this conclusion is too quick, raising more questions than it answers. What exactly is the international human rights regime? What changes has it undergone since 9/11, and (how) can those changes be attributed to events related to 9/11? How do obvious changes in national policy (foreign and domestic) impact the regime? How do these changes differ in Europe and the United States, and how do the differences play out internationally? Was 9/11 a significant turning point for human rights? In what ways? Does 9/11 provide a useful analytic frame for thinking about human rights and about changes in the human rights regime? This conference, being held in cooperation with the Deutsche Vereinigung für Politische Wissenschaft (DVPW German Political Science Association) ad hoc group on Human Rights, will convene scholars from Europe and America to debate these and related questions. We want to take seriously the important events of 9/11 and assess their impact on the international human rights regime without taking the nature or extent of that impact for granted. We are interested both in papers that address specific instances of continuity or change in the regime and in papers that wrestle with conceptual challenges raised in making such assessments. Papers from a variety of disciplinary perspectives law, policy, international relations, normative theory are welcome. Abstracts in response to this call, or any questions, should be submitted via email by 1 November 2007 to Michael Goodhart: [email protected] Along with the abstract, please submit a current c.v. and complete contact information. Authors will be notified about acceptances in early December. All authors will be expected to submit completed essays by March 15, 2008. Participants may be invited to publish their essays in an edited volume following the conference. Contact: Michael Goodhart, PhD Department of Political Science University of Pittsburgh 4815 Wesley W. Posvar Hall Pittsburgh, PA 15260 USA Fax: +1-412-648-7277 Email: [email protected] __________________________________________________ InterPhil List Administration: http://interphil.polylog.org Intercultural Philosophy Calendar: http://cal.polylog.org
