Selected Papers from 54th NCOBPS Annual Conference: Democracy on the Brink: Are We Headed into an Era of Authoritarianism?

Dear Colleagues,

The legacy of the Trump presidency in an era of authoritarian leadership can be characterized by extreme right-wing attacks on the right to privacy; individual autonomy; and the political, social, and economic rights of African Americans and other communities of color, women, immigrants, the poor, and LBGTQ+ individuals and families. Americans are also witnessing hundreds of restrictive laws pass Republican super-majority state legislatures across the nation. These laws contain outright cruel and inhumane policies that are meant to punish those who insist on pursuing their right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness in other states when their home states have legislated that they no longer have the right to individual choice. Due to systemic efforts to eliminate these communities from political discourse, we must grapple with both traditional civil rights, as well as consider the legislative policies and legal decisions that have Americans considering whether the democracy that they believed in is on the verge of elimination.

We invite articles that engage with but are not limited to the following themes:

• Authoritarianism in state legislators and the impact of Republican super-majority state legislators;
• Authoritarian practices in the international community of nations;
• Restrictions on reproductive rights;
• Extreme policies for social welfare programs;
• Restriction on activism and freedom of speech;
• The inability to pass police reform legislation;
• The Supreme Court’s decisions to overturn past rights;
• The impact of racism, sexism, and homophobia on healthcare;
• The impact of Trumpism on election laws and redistricting;
• The impact of anti-woke legislation on higher education;
• The impact of extremist policing on immigrants;
• Authoritarianism in Congress, the Supreme Court, and a possible second Trump term.

Please submit your proposals and any questions to special issue guest editors by 4 December 2023. Notification of acceptance will be provided by 11 December 2023. Final papers are due on 5 February 2024 for peer review.

Please attach your contribution as a Word document and use “Special Edition—NCOBPS 2023 Conference” in your subject line. Include the following in the body of the message. Your name and a short biography, a 200-word abstract, a list of five keywords/subject tags, and preferred e-mail address. If you are affiliated with an institution, please include the name.

Scholarly contributions should be more than 20 pages, inclusive of notes and citations (Chicago).

Dr. Athena M. King
Dr. Linda M. Trautman
Dr. Stephanie L. Williams
Dr. Tiffany Willoughby-Herard
Guest Editors

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• American politics
• democrary
• extreme politics
• civil rights
• reform