International Society for Environmental Ethics 

21st Annual Summer Meeting

Environmental Change and Democracy

The 21^st annual summer meeting of the International Society for Environmental Ethics (ISEE) will convene from Monday, June 24 to Wednesday, June 26, 2024, at the University of Fribourg Environmental Sciences and Humanities Institute, in Switzerland, and online. The intention is to have a primarily in-person event, however a limited number of slots for online participation will also be available.

We invite presentations in any topic in environmental philosophy. However, we particularly encourage proposals for talks concerning issues related to the conference theme, Environmental Change and Democracy.

Environmental challenges increasingly reveal new intersections between environmental ethics and political theory, raising questions both about how we should structure our political systems in response to environmental change and how we should adapt our forms of representation to accommodate new conceptions of environmental value and justice.

Environmental ethics also raises more fundamental questions for political theory. Traditionally, it was widely accepted that only human beings can form and be represented by political communities. However, with new developments in ethical thought about nonhuman animals and other natural entities, this demarcation has come under increasing criticism. Climate change has also made clear the need to consider the interests of future generations, both human and non-human. These new developments raise the question of how to include other species, environmental entities, and future generations; and whether doing so could justify placing limits on human self-determination in just political systems.

Environmental change also threatens democratic systems themselves: by exacerbating preexisting injustices, the flaws in old systems become undisguisable, and the increasing strain of such changes can lead to a rise in authoritarianism and reactionary ideologies. Conversely, new environmental challenges may demand new political systems if we are to respond adequately and quickly. These issues challenge the notion of the ideal political system in times of rapid environmental change.

Topics related to this year’s conference theme may include, among others, the challenges that environmental problems raise for current forms of democracy; the representation of non-human beings in politics; democracy and environmental justice; interspecies and intergenerational justice and political self-determination; nature experiences and politics; natural values and democratic decision-making.

Submission guidelines

Abstracts (max. 500 words) should be submitted in anonymous form through the form below. The deadline for submission is January 7, 2024. Decisions will be announced by March 1, 2024.

Prospective participants may apply to present in one of two formats, both of which provide 45 min. in total per paper. The first option is a 15-20 min. presentation, followed by 25-30 min. of Q&A; the second option is a 10-15 min. presentation, followed by a short commentary, then Q&A. Presentations followed by a commentary require a written text to be submitted to the commenter by June 1, 2024.

We strongly encourage and specifically consider the submissions of graduate students. Additionally, we encourage members of underrepresented groups in academia to submit an abstract. We also encourage participants planning to travel to this conference to offset their greenhouse gas emissions.

For co-authored papers, please indicate in the form how many authors plan to attend the conference if the paper is accepted, and which author(s) will be presenting.

Please contact us if you do not receive an automatic confirmation of your submission.

ISEE Membership

To become a member of ISEE and get a discount on the conference fee please follow this link.