Conference Details

9-10 April 2025

9:00am - 5:00pm

Canada Room and Council Chamber,

Lanyon Building,

Queen’s University Belfast.

 

Conference theme

The principle of ‘parity of esteem’ is a key component of the Good Friday (or Belfast) Agreement: ‘the power of the sovereign government with jurisdiction [in Northern Ireland, whether this is the United Kingdom or Irish government] shall be exercised with rigorous impartiality on behalf of all the people… and shall be founded on [inter alia, the principles of] parity of esteem and of just and equal treatment for the identity, ethos, and aspirations of both communities.’

Taken seriously as a constitutional principle, parity of esteem requires the state to do something unusual: to grant equal moral value to both the desire to stay within the state, and the desire to leave the state.  This is a singular idea, in tension with the general tendency of states not to tolerate ‘disloyalty’, and it has importance for other plurinational constitutional settlements.  While the concept of parity of esteem was developed in the 1990s, it has barely been explored since.

The Conference therefore aims to fill the gaps in our understanding of parity of esteem by analysing the concept from a range of different jurisdictional angles, methodological approaches, and disciplinary backgrounds.  In jurisdictional terms, the Conference will focus not only on the constitutional politics of Northern Ireland but also on other contexts where union and disunion are relevant and where citizenship comes under pressure.

 

Submission guidelines

The organisers are pleased to invite abstracts for Conference papers from diverse perspectives.  We particularly welcome submissions that address the concept of parity of esteem (or similar concepts) in jurisdictional contexts beyond Northern Ireland and Europe; and submissions engaging with the concept of parity of esteem as it relates to secession and human rights.  We are particularly keen to receive submissions from postgraduate students and early-career researchers (however defined), and from individuals who are members of underrepresented groups.

Presentation format:

Panels of one chair and four speakers, each speaker to present for 20 minutes, followed by 40 minute Q&A (provisional).

Your submission should include:

• Abstract (max 250 words)
• Biography (50-100 words)

Send your submission by email to t.flynn@essex.ac.uk.  Please use the subject line ‘Parity of Esteem abstract submission’.

The deadline for submissions is Tuesday 11 March 2025.

Decisions on acceptance will be communicated on or by Tuesday 18 March 2025.

 

Publication

The papers that result from the Conference are to be published in the Proceedings of the British Academy.

 

Funding

Limited funds are available to help with travel and accommodation costs.  Please note in your abstract submission if you will require funding.

 

Conference information 

Further details on the Conference, including registration can be found here.

This Conference is funded by the British Academy as part of their 2025-26 British Academy Conferences Scheme, and is hosted by the Senator George J Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice in partnership with QUB and the University of Essex.

 

Organisers:

Dr Tom Flynn (University of Essex)

Anurag Deb (QUB)

Prof Katy Hayward (QUB)

Dr Ewan Smith (University College London)

 

For further information, please contact Dr Tom Flynn at t.flynn@essex.ac.uk.