[Commlist] Call for Papers: Character Assassination, Illiberalism, and the Erosion of Civic Rights

Call for Papers: Character Assassination, Illiberalism, and the Erosion 
of Civic Rights

On June 21-23, the University of Amsterdam and VU University in 
collaboration with CARP (the Research Lab for Character Assassination 
and Reputation Politics) and the Illiberalism Studies Program will host 
the interdisciplinary conference “Character Assassination, Illiberalism, 
and the Erosion of Civic Rights”. All Communication and Media Studies 
scholars are welcome to submit an abstract.

Liberal democracies face multiple external challenges from autocracies 
across the world, as well as internal challenges from populist 
politicians, nativism, and the normalization of incivility in media and 
political discourses.Character assassination (CA) often accompanies 
these political and social conflicts, especially when unresolved 
ideological and moral issues are involved. Social conflicts become 
aggravated when moral issues intermix with political and economic 
factors. Factions then resort to persuasive attacks on character to 
delegitimize and disempower their opponents. This increased polarization 
and aggressiveness of elite rhetoric likely foster voters’ cynicism and 
discontent with politics as usual. The increasing gap between liberal 
elites and the disgruntled electorate, in turn, likely provides even 
more fertile ground for intra-elite conflict, and paves the way for 
illiberal conceptions of the democratic order.

Illiberalism is an emerging concept in political science and political 
philosophy that remains to be tested by different disciplines and 
approaches, such as political psychology, communication studies, 
rhetoric, and history. According to one leading definition,“Illiberalism 
is a new ideological universe that, even if doctrinally fluid and 
context based, is**to some degree coherent. It represents a backlash 
against today’s liberalism in all its varied scripts—political, 
economic, cultural, geopolitical, civilizational—often in the name of 
democratic principles and by winning popular support. It proposes 
solutions that are majoritarian, nation-centric or sovereigntist, 
favoring traditional hierarchies, conservative values, and some forms of 
cultural homogeneity.” (Laruelle,“Illiberalism: a conceptual 
introduction,” East European Politics). Defined more broadly, 
illiberalism “refers to a set of social, political, cultural, legal, and 
mental phenomena associated with the waning of individual liberty 
(personal freedom) as an everyday experience” and is “not an ideology or 
regime type,” but is “compatible with the political rituals of a 
competitive democracy.” (Sajó, Uitz, and Holmes, Routledge Handbook of 
Illiberalism, xxi). The erosion of civic rights that is one of the 
cornerstones of illiberalism is not limited to current-day democracies, 
but can also be witnessed in various historical societies. In the Roman 
Republic, the rise of “great men” with military backing such as Sulla, 
Caesar, and Octavian led to proscriptions and flagrant transgressions of 
the checks and balances built into the political system. During the 
radical phase of the French Revolution known as the “Reign of Terror” 
(1793-94), Robespierre and other revolutionaries employing liberal 
rhetoric nevertheless reestablished a form of absolute authority which 
gave the state all the power at the expense of the individual citizen. 
Beyond illustrating that the dynamics of authoritarianism and 
illiberalism are not limited to modernity, these examples provide 
additional insights to understand current-day cases, helping us move 
towards a more integrated theoretical framework. Yet, the interplay 
between political, sociological, communicational, psychological, and 
historical approaches to the understanding of current-day and historical 
dynamics of illiberalism remains extremely rare.

This conference seeks to explore current-day illiberal tendencies as 
well as historical societies where emerging strong men and dictators 
manipulated the political system and undermined the rights of the 
people. In particular, it focuses on practices of character 
assassination in these highly unstable and polarized environments. We 
invite scholars to submit research and works in progress which will 
discuss the drivers of illiberalism and the erosion of civic rights in 
ages of conflicting ideologies from a variety of disciplinary and 
cultural angles. We welcome both theoretical work and case studies. 
Authors of selected best papers will be invited to submit their work to 
Journal of Illiberalism Studies.

Suggested Topics:

The erosion of civic rights in historical societies;

Character assassination as an illiberal practice;

Negative campaigns and their effects on behaviors and attitudes;

Political incivility over time and space;

The psychological and emotional underpinnings of persuasive attacks on 
character;

Populist rhetoric, impression management, and democratic elections;

Political incivility and polarization;

The spread of culture wars in the U.S., the E.U., and beyond;

Illiberal technologies and societal transformations;

The effects of cancel culture on civil discourse;

Far-right and far-left social movements;

Digital activism and the practices of disruption and subversion;

Neo-authoritarian forms of coercion and dominance in the Internet Age;

Mediated public scandals in liberal democracies;

Personalization and infotainment issues;

Legal aspects of libel, slander, and defamation;

Reputation management, image repair, and inoculation strategies.

Please submit a 250-word abstract of your paper by 15 February, 2023. A 
limited number of slots for online presentations will be made available. 
If you would like to opt for one of these, please include a brief 
motivation explaining your reasons. Email the abstract as an attachment 
to Martijn IcksM.Icks@uva.nland Sergei Samoilenko (atssamoyle /at/ gmu.edu).

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