Democracy Today.indb - Universidade do Minho

INTRODUCTION
DEMOCRACY TODAY. THIS IS THE TOPIC OF THIS BOOK, which reflects the I
International Congress on Political Philosophy and Theory that took
place at Universidade do Minho during the 3rd and 4th of November
of 2010.
This Congress was the first moment of a broader research, moved
by the inquiry of Redefining Democracy for the XXI Century. As a whole,
this project aims at finding new ways of conceiving democracy for the
future, both theoretically and practically speaking. Our goal is to bring
into discussion several aspects of theory and practice that have dominated
the ‘democratic discourse’ until today. In doing so, and given the
contemporary circumstances of globalization and the shift of forces
from the traditional “nation-state” into other forms of social, economic
and political organization that we are witnessing for the past two decades,
we try to understand what can we do in order to get closer to the
democratic ideal(s). From a profound and inter-disciplinary dialogue
between philosophers, social and political scientists, and individuals
who are engaged in enhancing the democratic spirit and democratic
practices around the globe, we expect to contribute to the multi-task
of (re)designing, reconfiguring, transforming and adapting current
practices into constant and ever changing historical circumstances
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INTRODUCTION
Marta Nunes da Costa