The Leiden research profile area on Political Legitimacy invites workshop proposals for the international conference ‘Political Legitimacy and the Paradox of Regulation’. The central question is whether the increase of regulations has helped or hindered the legitimacy of political systems, including modern democracies. While legitimacy is a contested concept, most contemporary accounts take that popular legitimacy, the idea that power should be justified in the eyes of the people, is an important topic. The role of regulation in achieving legitimate rule has been and will remain an important research question in many academic disciplines. We invite prospective workshop directors to submit a workshop proposal on a theme related to this subject.

The conference is open to scholars from history, law, politics, public administration, political philosophy and international relations. It will take place on Wednesday 23 (evening only), Thursday 24 and Friday 25 January 2013 in Leiden, the Netherlands. The conference is organized by the Leiden research profile area on Political Legitimacy, a university-funded interdisciplinary research group that aims to strengthen research on legitimacy both inside and outside Leiden University.

Please check our website for more information on the theme of the conference and instructions for submitting a workshop proposal.