What unites politics around the world—from movements for social justice or resistance to party politics, religion, or nationalism—is the exhortation to think and act collectively. To put a ‘greater good’ before our thoughts and selves. Yet the excesses of solidarity, including groupthink, jingoism, or even totalitarianism, underscore the need for solitude in politics. Democracies, for instance, promise to leave citizens free to make up their own minds and to ensure their votes remain secret. Capitalist economics views individuals as pursuing their own material self-interest. But an abundance of solitude can yield political apathy, loneliness and in some cases extremism. And national solitude can take the form of unilateralism or autarchy.
Today, the theme of solidarity and solitude is especially pertinent. Some call for standing with Ukraine or Palestine; others ask us to think of future generations in addressing climate change or economic inequalities. Proponents of post-liberalism and anti-globalism often claim that excessive secularism or individualism have left societies rootless. Yet individual action and reflection are sorely needed as well. Polarisation contributes to blind allegiance to extremist politics on both the right and left. Moreover, artificial intelligence and social media can make it harder for individuals to think for themselves all while destroying common understandings around truth, democracy, or science.
The launch of this theme also coincides with the 45th anniversary of the Polish Solidarity Movement (Solidarność) in 1980, which helped lift the Iron Curtain in Europe.
Topics
The Oxford Political Review seeks submissions (by 23:59 29 September) relating to ‘Solidarity and Solitude’ in global politics, culture and ideas, and law, such as:
Global Politics
- International cooperation, multilateralism, and unilateralism.
- Social movements, collective action, and individual acts of protest or violence.
- Redistribution and the welfare state.
- Voting behaviour and polarisation.
Culture and Ideas
- Online versus real-world solidarity.
- Liberalism and post-liberalism.
- ‘Groupthink’ and Disinformation.
- The politics of apathy and loneliness
Law
- Conflicts of free speech, property and other rights—particularly when addressing climate, housing, affordability, or pension-solvency crises.
- Taxation.
Books for Review
Suggestions for relevant book reviews are welcome, including:
- Civic Solitude: Why Democracy Needs Distance by Robert B. Talisse
- Discounting the Future: The Ascendacy of a Political Technology by Liliana Doganova
- The Dilemma of Authority by Allyn Fives
- Eclipsing the West: China, India and the Forging of a New World by Vince Cable
Submission Guidelines
The deadline for submissions is 29 September at 23:59.
Submissions should be:
- Long-form articles consisting of no more than 2,000 words.
- Book reviews and review essays of no more than 1,500 words.
- Interviews of no more than 2,000 words.
For our submission guidelines, please see this link and our style guide is here.
Please submit using the form at this link. Do not submit files in PDF format. Direct any queries to oxfordpoliticalreview@gmail.com.
We typically have more submissions than we can accept. If we like your submission but cannot accept it for the print issue, we will publish it separately online.