Conferences
Conferences 2023-24
Liberal/Democracy
June 18-20, 2024, SciencesPo, Paris
Co-sponsored by the Cegla Center for Interdisciplinary Research, TAU and the Van Leer Institution, in collaboration with NYU Law School and SciencesPo School of Law.
During the twentieth century, liberalism and democracy became closely intertwined, often seen as synonymous. Following the collapse of the "people's democracies" and the fall of the Berlin Wall, democracy became associated not only with procedural-electoral principles but also with a set of liberal values and free markets. The term "liberal-democracy" became equivalent to an equation mark, with liberal and democracy inseparable. This shift occurred gradually, as an increasing number of democratic regimes worldwide embraced not only free and fair elections but also stronger separation of powers, enhanced protection of fundamental liberties (such as freedom of speech, religion, and property rights), robust constitutional structures safeguarded by influential courts, and global capitalist economy.
However, in recent times, this pairing of liberalism and democracy has come under attack. Theoretically, politically, economically, and socially, there is a rising challenge to the liberal-democratic order. Concepts such as "illiberal democracies" and "liberal autocracies" have emerged, seeking to undermine or dismantle the liberal aspects of governance while emphasizing the democratic component. Countries like Hungary, Poland, India, Venezuela, Peru, and more recently, Israel, have witnessed political parties initiating legal reforms and regime changes aimed at weakening or even dismantling the liberal elements of their systems in the name of strengthening democracy.
In other cases, regimes like Singapore, with autocratic leadership or one-party systems, have granted their citizens a broader range of economic and civil rights while maintaining control over elections, essentially using them as a validation of power rather than as genuine democratic contests. These developments bring to the forefront the tension between democracy and liberalism, necessitating a reassessment of their relationship.
The conference will serve as a platform for reexamining from historical, philosophical, political, social, economic, and legal perspectives, the intricate connection between democracy and liberalism.
Relational Justice: A Theory of Private Law, Hanoch Dagan* & Avihay Dorfman – Book Event
December 20, 2023, Buchmann Faculty of Law, Tel Aviv University
Relational Justice: A Theory of Private Law offers a comprehensive theory of private law. It claims that private law should be understood as the law governing our horizontal relationships with one another in our capacity as private individuals rather than as citizens. The Book unapologetically discards the vision of private law as a bastion of strictly negative duties of non-interference or of efficiency-maximizing. The most fundamental guideline of Relational Justice derives from the liberal maxim of reciprocal respect for self-determination and substantive equality. Only by vindicating self-determination can private law forge and sustain the variety of horizontal interaction frameworks so crucial to our ability to form and implement a conception of the good life. Furthermore, only by structuring these interactions in terms requiring parties to respect one another for the persons they are can private law properly cast them as interactions between equals.
*Hanoch Dagan is the former Director of the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics (2017-23).
Occupation in International Law – Book Launch
December 21, 2023, Buchmann Faculty of Law, Tel Aviv University
Co-sponsored by The Minerva Center for Human Rights, TAU
The international law of occupation is the body of law, under international humanitarian law, that regulates the actions of states—and possibly other actors such as international organizations—that gain effective control over territory during armed conflict. The law of occupation seeks to balance several interests, which are often in tension with one another. Its most fundamental principle is that occupation does not confer sovereignty, and that the powers of the occupant are limited. The occupant is viewed as a temporary trustee, empowered only to maintain public order and safety in the territory, including that of its own forces. The law of occupation seeks to ensure that the occupant respects the rights of the absent sovereign; respects and ensures the individual rights of the local population; as well as their right to self-determination. This book seeks to provide an entry point for those seeking to familiarize themselves with the topic, by elaborating on general principles and key rules. It explores the tensions and dilemmas which characterize the modern law of occupation, while highlighting, when needed, interpretations which best conform with the law’s object and purpose. All in all, this book aims to guide relevant actors when seeking to assess or to challenge state actions in occupied territories.
Challenges to Democracy from a Comparative Perspective: Hungary, Poland, and Israel
January 1, 2024, Buchmann Faculty of Law, Tel Aviv University
Co-sponsored by the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law in Heidelberg
This conference will be focusing on the democratic challenges confronted by Hungary, Poland, and Israel, viewed from a comparative perspective. The lessons drawn from Hungary and Poland's democratic decline have been instrumental in informing and bolstering the Israeli protest since its inception, contributing significantly to its success. Distinguished scholars from Hungary, Poland, Israel, and Germany will collaboratively investigate both the commonalities and distinctions in the threats faced by democracy in their respective nations, with the aim of mutually benefiting from each other's experiences.
Democracy and Human Rights in Germany and Israel
TBD, Buchmann Faculty of Law, Tel Aviv University
Co-sponsored by The Minerva Center for Human Rights, TAU
The "Democracy and Human Rights in Germany and Israel" conference will gather Israeli and German scholars for in-depth comparative discussions and exchanges on democratic norms and human rights within these two countries. Participants will engage in critical dialogue, exploring shared challenges, successes, and innovative approaches to promoting and protecting democracy and human rights in diverse cultural and political contexts. The conference will foster cross-border collaboration and knowledge-sharing, ultimately contributing to the advancement of human rights principles and practices in Germany, Israel, and beyond.
The Eleventh Privacy Conference
May 19, 2024, Buchmann Faculty of Law, Tel Aviv University
Co-sponsored by the Chief Justice Meir Shamgar Center for Digital Law and Innovation
Privacy studies are an emerging cross-disciplinary field of study. The annual workshop on privacy and cyber studies is a platform for presenting and discussing cutting edge studies on privacy. Participants are typically from a broad range of disciplines: computer science, information systems, engineering, law, media studies, psychology and sociology, economics and more. The workshop is based on a call for papers, and submissions are carefully selected.
Solidarity in Fractured Times: Theory, Empirics, and Law
June 24-25, 2024, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Co-sponsored by the Faculty Lab on Liberalism at the Buchmann Faculty of Law at TAU, the MIT political science department, and the MISTI Global Seed Fund
Solidarity is a ubiquitous term in the literature on politics and policy, and it often invokes positive connotations, as a source of social cooperation and cohesion. Yet solidarity may also have a darker side, appealing to exclusive sentiments and supporting “us vs. them” rhetoric in the midst of economic and political upheaval. Recent years have seen growing interest in solidarity within both political philosophy and legal theory, alongside continued attention from political economists. Empirical scholarship has given us a sophisticated picture of how solidaristic coalitions shape policy and how those policies may encourage and shape solidarities in turn. Political theorists have taken steps toward integrating normative analysis and empirical research on how material conditions impact the contemporary prospects for solidarity. Legal scholars have examined some of the institutional preconditions and expressions of solidaristic action.
To date, however, there has been very little direct engagement between these three disciplines concerning the aims, enabling conditions, and institutional expressions of solidarity, as well as its distinct varieties. Such engagement is particularly urgent given conditions of rapid economic and technological change, growing inequality, and rising political extremism in both developed and developing democracies around the world. The combined effort of political theorists, political scientists, and legal scholars holds particular promise in thinking through not only how solidarity comes about, but also what purposes it serves and how our laws and institutions can support its more salutary forms. This could entail exploring the possibilities and the comparative advantages of solidarity on different scales, including both the subnational and the supranational levels, as well as solidarity based on different types of identity, from the local to the occupational to the political.
End of the Year Event
TBD
The colloquium will culminate in an end of the year symposium. Faculty members will comment on the fellows’ research conducted during their fellowship year. The event supply an opportunity to reflect on the intersection of themes in the fellows’ work, and on the relationship between that work and the current state of scholarship in neighboring fields.
