As part of the bilingual conference “Political Philosophy for a Better World: Facing Polycrisis,” jointly organized by the Department of Political Science at Université Laval, the Chair in Democracy and Public Ethics (Université Laval), and the Centre for Research in Ethics (CRÉ), we are launching a call for papers for graduate students in political philosophy, political theory, or any other relevant field, who is currently supervised or affiliated with one of the speakers.

We are pleased to welcome Jonathan Wolff (Oxford) and Daniel Weinstock (McGill) as our two keynote speakers.

With the participation of :
Arash Abizadeh (McGill)
Denise Celentano (UdeM)
Andrée-Anne Cormier (ENAP)
Alexandre Gajevic Sayegh (ULaval)
Amy Janzwood (McGill)
Jocelyn Maclure (McGill)
Christian Nadeau (McGill)
Pierre-Yves Néron (Lille)
Vida Panitch (Carleton)
Mauro Rossi (UQAM)
Laura Silva (ULaval)
Natalie Stoljar (McGill)
Patrick Turmel (ULaval)

The conference aims to explore how political philosophy can be mobilized to address the major challenges we face as a society – such as the climate crisis, the rise of populism, the erosion of democratic norms, and radicalization. In this context of polycrisis, there is a need to create a space for reflection dedicated to addressing these pressing problems. Hence the appeal to political philosophy, which is by nature a normative discipline: its objective is to provide us with norms and guidelines to help us move towards a more just society. However, it is not enough to have good ideas and policies; we need ideas and policies that will be supported by the population. It is therefore worth noting that there is a link between distributive justice and social acceptability, in that there is empirical evidence supporting the idea that fair distributions enjoy greater popular support. Thus, this discipline stands to gain significantly by directly addressing the major challenges we face today and by doing so in a way that brings knowledge out of the confines of academia.

This conference will therefore bring together renowned researchers to reflect on and formulate recommendations to help address these major challenges, including climate change, the rise of populism, disinformation, and the erosion of democratic norms. The presentations will therefore not be solely intended for the academic community, but rather for society at large. Presenters are encouraged to formulate clear recommendations, regardless of the stage of development of the problem they are considering. Researchers are invited (but not required) to shed light on concrete public decisions that have been or will be made, using specific examples (public policies, bills, evidence-based data), thereby demonstrating both how political philosophy is essential for understanding these issues and how it helps us move towards solutions that can garner broad public support.

This conference will be innovative in its content within the field of political philosophy, in its engagement with pressing contemporary issues, and in its format, which aims for communication and dissemination to a broad audience. Each selected speaker will have 30 minutes for their presentation. Within these 30 minutes, each presentation will last 15 minutes and will be followed by a question-and-answer session. Five (5) proposals will be selected. Student presentations are scheduled for Wednesday, May 6, 2026, in the afternoon, in person only, at Université Laval in Quebec City. While the organizers intend to cover all travel expenses for participants, this remains contingent upon available funding. The conference will extend to May 7 and 8, with panels featuring the invited professors, as well as two plenary sessions. All selected students will be invited to participate in meals and activities with the speakers.

To submit a presentation proposal (in French or English), please send a single Word document (.doc) including a 300-word abstract (excluding references) of your presentation, a curriculum vitae, and the following information: full name, affiliation, name of research supervisor, and your email address. Priority will be given to students supervised by professors participating in the conference. Proposals must be sent to Alexandre (alexandre.petitclerc@umontreal.ca) before 5:00 p.m. on March 20, 2026.

Conference organizers: Alexandre Gajevic Sayegh (Associate Professor, Political Science, ULaval) Ryoa Chung (Full Professor, Philosophy, UdeM) Patrick Turmel (Full Professor, Philosophy, ULaval) Alexandre Petitclerc (PhD candidate, Philosophy, UdeM).

Our partners:
Charie de recherche Démocratie et éthique publique
Centre de recherche en éthique (CRÉ)
Département de science politique, Université Laval
Faculté de philosophie, Université Laval
Institut d’éthique appliquée (IDÉA), Université Laval
Groupe de recherche interuniversitaire sur la normativité (GRIN)
Faculté des sciences sociales, Université Laval