Political Philosphy/Theory and Central America

Dear friends and colleagues:

I am in the process of organizing a Yahoo discussion group on political philosophy/theory as it relates to, applies to or issues from the context of Central American political life both past and present. I would like to point out that, to the best of my knowledge, this is an unprecedented project in terms of Central American/Latin American Studies and I am sharing this with you to let you know about it.

The description that I've currently posted on the group's website is the following:

"This group welcomes and hopes to foster discussion around theoretical and practical issues arising out of moral, legal and political life in Central America. This is an inclusive and pluralistic group and thus it welcomes ideas and arguments inspired by various currents and debates in contemporary political philosophy and theory. This discussion group seeks to create a space for the discussion of topics anchored in, among others, critical theory, liberalism, communitarianism, pragmatism, Marxism, feminism, the philosophy of liberation, critical legal studies, and cultural theory/subaltern studies. Although some of these discussions may be related to the search for solutions to actually existing and pressing problems in Central America, some may also be about clarifying and debating more theoretical but equally important and pressing questions. Either way, this group offers a space for a discussion of these issues and trends in the context of Central American Studies and politics."

When I speak of political philosophy/theory I am referring to some of the main currents of intellectual debate that presently define the field at the international and regional levels. For example, Critical Theory (particularly the work of Habermas and his circle), liberalism in its various incarnations (from Rawls through Dworkin to Kymlicka), neo-aristotelianism (Sandel), communitarianism (Taylor), feminism (Pateman, Benhabib, MacKinnon, Fraser), and other currents such as Marxism, postmodernism/post-structuralism, cultural theory, subaltern studies, and critical legal studies. There are other currents, of course, and this group encourages participation from people working in these various fields provided that this work is also related to something in Central American political life.

In terms of regional expressions of political philosophy/theory, I'm thinking of the work of well-known Argentinean scholar Carlos Santiago Nino. Nino's work on ethics and human rights represents one of the most serious, provocative and challenging developments to issue from the Latin American context. But this is not the only one. There is also the work of scholars such as that Mexican scholars Carlos Villoro, Cuban scholar Raúl Fornet-Betancourt, Argentinean scholar Guillermo O'Donnell, and others.

I believe that what these and other scholars have written about and argued about has a great deal of relevance not only for our understanding of Central American political life, but also for the development of possible, novel, and self-critical forms of self-understanding in the region. In all of these countries, both in the general public sphere as well as in political and academic circles, people are talking about issues such as multiculturalism, the democratic-constitutional state, the inclusion of minorities, ethnic and other forms of identity politics, human rights, citizenship, civil society, crime and punishment, community and the nation-state, etc. All these topics are the bread and butter of political philosophy/theory and I believe it is time to make this clear and bring it out into the open.

Despite the relevance of political philosophy/theory for some of the most pressing and urgent issues facing Central America today, I detect that there is a great deal of indifference, and even cynicism, in both academic circles outside the region as well as in scholarly and political circles in Central America, about the relevance of these intellectual disciplines. I believe that this type of indifference is a profound mistake.

I am sharing with you these views and ideas because I think that this group can potentially benefit tremendously from your input and participation. Of course, people who subscribe to this group are by no means required to actively participate, though that is the idea of joining the group. People who participate can do so in English or Spanish or both. This group can serve as an important platform for sharing ideas, work in progress, documents, information, notices about conferences, publications, funding and even employment in related fields. I believe this is an initiative with great potential and it is up to participants to realize this potential.

I hope that this message gives you an idea of what I am trying to organize and why. For further information or to subscribe to this group, please visit the following site:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/filosofia_politica/

If you know someone else who may be working on these issues, I would appreciate it very much if could forward these message to them.

Sincerely,

Marco Fonseca

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Marco Fonseca, Ph.D.
Lecturer
Department of Political Science
University of Toronto
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