DEmocratic PARticipation in Territorial states

Project Information

DEPART

Grant agreement ID: 792263

DOI

10.3030/792263

Project closed

EC signature date 21 March 2018

Start date 17 September 2018

End date 16 September 2020

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Total cost

€ 212 194,80

EU contribution

€ 212 194,80

Coordinated by

AALBORG UNIVERSITET
Denmark

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - DEPART (DEmocratic PARticipation in Territorial states)

Reporting period: 2018-09-17 to 2020-09-16

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Who should have a right to participate in the making of political decisions? Political theorists have traditionally approached this important moral question in two ways. Theorists of territorial rights argue that the right to make laws on particular territories belongs to groups, such that a person’s enfranchisement derives from her group membership. In contrast, democratic theorists argue that states should enfranchise anyone affected or subjected by their laws, regardless of group membership; if not, their lawmaking is undemocratic. This creates an intriguing dilemma. As they stand, the prominent theories preclude a straightforward dual commitment to democratic decision-making and collective territorial rights: we must either give nonmembers a say over a group’s lawmaking on ‘its’ territory, or withhold various individuals’ right to a democratic say.

To solve that impasse, DEPART (“DEmocratic PARticipation in Territorial states”) has conducted the first systematic exploration of how theories of territorial rights and democratic participation may be plausibly combined. The aim has been to develop a unified theory of rights of democratic participation (through voting) in territorial states. The project has used what is known as the method of reflective equilibrium – a common methodology within the Anglo-American (or ‘analytical’) tradition of normative political theory/political philosophy.

DEPART has aimed to achieve several valuable goals. First, to develop a unified theory of rights of demovcratic participation in territrorial states, which shows how insights from apparently disparate approaches may pull in the same direction – thus offering a promising framework for fruitful future research on territorial rights and democratic participation. Second, to give policy-guidance on several issues on the EU agenda, including whether EU citizens living in another member state should have a say in that state’s national elections – as raised, for example, in the Commission’s 2013 EU Citizenship Report. Third, when communicating its action and results, to contribute to reinforce public awareness of the value of democratic participation (especially among youths).

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

During the period, the researcher has had six project papers in preparation, five single-authored and one co-authored (with Robert Huseby).

He has regularly presented and disseminated his work, both in preliminary and final form, at several international or national conferences/workshops throughout the fellowship period. These events include the following:
• The Nordic Network in Political Theory Annual Meeting, Roskilde, 26 October 2018.
• The Nanyang Technological University Philosophy Group seminar, School of Humanities, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 2 November 2018.
• The Globalizing Minority Rights workshop, Carlsberg Academy, Copenhagen, 9 November 2018.
• The workshop Conflicting Claims on Constituent Power: the People and the Constitution in Pluralistic Societies, Kastellholmen, Stockholm, 23 November 2018.
• The second Political Philosophy Looks to Antarctica workshop, University of Oslo, 6 December 2018.
• The Danish Philosophical Society Annual Conference, Vejle, 1 March, 2019.
• The Oslo-Aarhus workshop in Political Theory, Aarhus University, 19 March 2019.
• The Boundary Problem Workshop, Institute for Future Studies, Stockholm, 10 May 2019.
• The Association of Social and Political Philosophy (ASPP) Annual Conference, Newcastle University, Newcastle, 24 June 2019.
• The Nordic Network in Political Theory Annual Meeting, Oslo, 31 October 2019.
• The Practical Philosophy Working Group, IFIKK, UiO, Oslo, 3 March 2020.
• C3P 1-day workshop, End workshop for DEPART, Aalborg, 2 September 2020.

In addition, the researcher has participated in several internal workshops and research seminars held at the host institution, the Department of Culture and Learning, at Aalborg University. The researcher also had a paper accepted for presentation at the 2020 ECPR General Conference. (The paper’s panel was cancelled because several participants withdrew due to COVID-19.)

Two articles with findings from the project has been published during the fellowship period itself. These are:
• Angell, Kim (2020): “A Life Plan Principle of Voting Rights”, in Ethical Theory and Moral Practice. Vol. 23, No. 1: 125-139; and
• Angell, Kim and Robert Huseby (2020): “The All Affected Principle, and the weighting of votes”, in Politics, Philosophy & Economics. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1470594X20949938.

Project findings have also been communicated and promoted by other means than scientific publications, including on social media (Facebook, Twitter) and websites (Academia.edu).

The researcher has also participated in four courses on writing grant applications (two in Denmark and two in Norway), and in a special mentorship program offered by Aalborg University.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The project has established the significant incompatibility between the two most prominent theories of territorial rights (the improvement- and attachment-theories) and the two most prominent theories of democratic participation (the All-Affected Interests-view and the Subjectedness-to-Law view) found in the traditional literature.

The project has also generated a novel, life plan-oriented approach to the distribution of rights of democratic participation in territorial states, which has bearing on decision-making at the local, regional, national, as well as the supra-state level. This novel approach – grounded in the value of personal autonomy – is much more inclusive than current state practices, and thus gives a philosophical foundation for reform of our electoral institutions.

As mentioned, some of the project’s results have already been published in the form of two articles in international peer-reviewed journals within political philosophy, where they can be exploited by scholars. The remaining results, in the form of four further articles, will also be submitted to similar journals. The project’s results are mainly of use for democratic theorists and political philosophers. However, because the results offer evaluations of existing electoral institutions, they are also useful for policy-makers and civil society agents interested in electoral policy reform.

At Nanyang Technical University, Nov 2018, presenting preliminary results in the Dept of Philosophy