Theme: "Political Failure: Faction, Hyperpartisanship, and Civil War"

Our time has witnessed increasing, considerable polarization in politics.  Some pundits fear a new Civil War in the U.S., while others worry about the consequences of factional politics on the stability of the regime and the consistent execution of the rule of law.  Conference papers may examine the origins and causes of faction in politics, or the causes of the expansion of factionalization into civil war, through an examination of the works of the history of political thought.  Papers may examine the main remedies for factions discussed by the political theorists living during contentious periods.  More generally, papers may examine conflict, group formation and struggle, leadership in times of crisis, or any topic related to the dissolution of community.