Third Strathmore University Ethics Conference

Politics and the Common Good

Strathmore University, Nairobi, Kenya

28th-29th October 2005

The nature and purpose of political life have been a topic of debate for centuries. Early political philosophers, like Confucius and Aristotle, emphasised the moral purpose of political communities. Other writers have raised more practical questions seeking to discover whether there is such a thing as a universal “best” form or structure of government. More recently, particularly in the last two decades of the 20th century, “political corruption” has been the focus of intense study, with the realisation that the use of positions of public trust for private gain has had serious negative consequences on development and the welfare of whole peoples. Whatever one's area of political concern, it is clear that ethical conduct is required in politics and all other areas of human endeavour.

Politics involves governing others for the sake of the common good, and the obligation of directing and leading others to the desired good. Although politics and authority are often viewed as distinct realities, in practice persons in positions of authority shape the character of political communities. If politics is to be more than mere manipulation, and public positions not abused for private gain, they must be understood within a comprehensive social and economic framework aimed at enhancing the Common Good.

The Third Strathmore University Ethics Conference welcomes high-quality academic papers from scholars of political science, philosophy, law and other relevant disciplines, on themes related to governance, politics, civic and public morality, and the common good, written from an ethical perspective. In particular we invite authors to address issues related to the relationship between morality, politics and law, including the ethical dimension of politics, the nature of political authority, the moral purposes of law and government, and the political character and role of law in promoting the public welfare.

Important Dates:

• 1 July 2005: Deadline for submission of 500-word abstracts
• 15 July 2005: Notification of acceptance of abstracts
• 1 Sept 2005: Deadline for submission of 4,000 to 8,000-word papers in electronic format
• 15 Sept 2005: Notification of acceptance of papers
• 1 Oct 2005: Submission of final corrections for publication
• 28-29 Oct 2005: Conference

Please submit abstracts and papers to:

The Secretary
Scientific Committee
3rd Annual Ethics Conference
Strathmore University
P. O. Box 59857 , 00200-City Square
Nairobi , Kenya

Fax: (254) 20 607498

E-mail:

The conference will be convened on the campus of Strathmore University, Ole Sangale Road, Madaraka Estate, Nairobi, Kenya.

The proceedings of the conference will be published by Strathmore University Press.

Download Call for Papers pdf