Call for Proposals

Lawyer-Statesmen and Constitutional Democracy

Forum on Contemporary Theory and the International Lincoln Center                                             

Venue: The IIS University , Mansarovar, Jaipur , India 22 December 2011

The role of lawyer-statesmen in constitutional development is the subject of an international multidisciplinary conference slated for late December 2011. The conference will be held in India hosted by the Forum on Contemporary Theory in Vadodara, in cooperation with the International Lincoln Center of Louisiana State University in Shreveport .  The Selection Committee will consider all topics and approaches submitted.

The conference will explore:

·         historical and contemporary case studies of lawyer-statesmen from around the world who share democratic values and a tolerance for the democratic process in comparison to extreme ideologues with autocratic tendencies, and

·         whether “greats” (“judicial statesmen”) tend to be active, flexible moderates who demonstrate magnanimity and prudence.

Submissions, requested on institutional letterhead, should consist of a 10-line proposal followed by a 3-5 line biographical sketch of the author. The submission is limited to one side of a single 8.5 by 11-inch sheet of paper.  The sheet should be attached to the proposed title, the author’s name and both full postal and e-mail addresses. Deadline for proposal submissions is 15 August 2011. Early submissions are encouraged.  Papers due by 1 September 2011 and are limited to 15 double-spaced pages including citations.

Please send proposals as e-mail attachments to Bill Pederson at william.pederson@lsus.edu; fax to 318.795.4203; or mail to International Lincoln Center , LSUS, One University Place , Shreveport , LA   71115-2301 , USA .

Selected papers will be published in a post-conference volume.

Possible Topics (Others Encouraged)

America                                   Asian                    Fiction                                        Other

John Marshall                            M. Gandhi            Antigone (Sophocles)                   Nelson Mandela   

Thomas Jefferson                     M. A. Jinnah          Les Miserable (Hugo)                  Mary Robinson (Ireland)

Abraham Lincoln                      B. R. Ambedkar    Mario & the Magician (Mann)     Benito Juarez     

Progressive Era Lawyer/Pols            J. Nehru                All the King’s Men (Warren)        Lawyers during Revolutions    

Charles Evans Hughes             Roh Moo-hyun       Billy Budd (Melville)                     Oscar Arias Sanchez(Costa Rica)     

FDR’s Legal Realists               Benignon Aquino                                                        Raul Alfonsin (Argentina)   

F. La Guardia                          C. Rajagopalachari                                                     Earl Warren  

                                              A. K. Fazlul Haque                                                    Barack Obama    

                                              Global Legal Critique      

Thematic Background

Icons and Illusionists: Lawyer-Statesmen in Constitutional Democracy

            This international conference explores the role of lawyer-statesmen in the unfolding of constitutional democracy. It seeks to evaluate how some lawyers learn democratic values in their training and practice of the law and then reinforce those values (compromise, equality, human dignity, tolerance, etc.) becoming statesmen in elected positions. In contrast, other lawyer-politicians seem less interested in democratic values than self-interest, power and status for themselves.

            Historically, lawyer-statesmen have played a major role in classic political revolutions and the preservation of civil society. Crane Brinton first noted that lawyers are often among the first citizens to become disillusioned with the Old Regime (1938) in classic revolutions. They often become in revolutions the moderates who are then driven from power by the doctrinaire ideologues. Mohandas Gandhi’s confrontation with the British in South Africa is similar to Thomas Jefferson’s earlier confrontation with the British in Colonial America as both emerging lawyer-statesmen leaders presented legal briefs against colonialism’s violation of the law.  The role of Pakistani lawyers against Pervez Musharraf and the emergence of the international non-governmental organization, Lawyers without Borders (2000) seemingly echo their iconic predecessors.

            As the world’s first constitutional democracy with a written constitution, the United States provides a backdrop to the conference. Its Supreme Court and original presidency were outlined by lawyer-statesmen, the predominant background of the 1787 Constitutional Convention participants. Following that same pattern, most American presidents have been lawyers, too, but recent research shows that the greatest future presidents were those who had practiced law the least, instead opting for a political career (Pederson 1989).  Abraham Lincoln is the great exception to this pattern, but he also was the first future lawyer-statesman to run for political office before becoming a lawyer.  On the other hand, most of those lawyer-presidents who had practiced the law the longest became passive statesmen once they became president, a seeming confirmation of the Marxist prediction that economics promotes the status quo. 

            During the early years of the American republic, the position of secretary of state was an incubator for future presidents. By the mid-twentieth century, critics began arguing that American foreign policy is too “legalistic,” especially as reflected in the tenure of John Foster Dulles during the Cold War.  “ Third World ” nations often criticize international law as the tool of Western neocolonialism, an issue the conference will address as well (Posner 2009, Glennon 2010).

            Several chief justices of the U. S. Supreme Court left their marks on constitutional democracy.  John Marshall acquired judicial review for the High Bench in 1803; Charles Evans Hughes stepped down from the Court to make a failed bid for the presidency then later returned as chief justice in time to block FDR’s Supreme Court packing plan (Pederson and Provizer 1993, 1994, 2003).  Earl Warren led a “judicial revolution” on the High Bench in the 1950s and 1960s by expanding human rights. Yet overall, justices as non-elected figures have played a conservative role in American society.

            Long before historians and political scientists examined the role of lawyer-statesmen, writers probed the dimensions of law, politics and justice. The classic works include Sophocles’ Antigone, William Shakespeare’s Henry VI, Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables, Herman Melville’s Billy Budd, Thomas Mann’s Mario and the Magician based upon the figure of Benito Mussolini, and Robert Penn Warren’s All the King’s Men based upon populist demagogues in the American South, especially the rise and fall of Louisiana ’s Huey Long.

            The conference seeks to be cross-cultural and multidisciplinary in its exploration of the historical and contemporary role of lawyer-statesmen in the development of constitutional democracy. All topics and approaches will be considered by the Selection Committee. 

Sources:

·         James D. Barber, The Lawmakers, 1965.

·         Crane Brinton, Anatomy of a Revolution, 1938.

·         Michael J. Glennon, The Fog of War: Pragmatism, Security and International Law, 2010.

·         W. Pederson, “Barberian” Presidency, 1989.

·         W. Pederson and N. Provizer, Great Justices, 1993, 1994.

·         W. Pederson and N. Provizer, Leaders of the Pack, 2003.

·         Eric A. Posner, Perils of Global Legalism, 2009.