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100 years of universal suffrage in Luxembourg

Cent ans de suffrage universel au Luxembourg

100 Jahre allgemeines Wahlrecht in Luxemburg

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Published on Thursday, December 27, 2018

Abstract

2019 will mark the 100th anniversary of the introduction of universal suffrage in Luxembourg. On this occasion, the Chamber of Deputies and the National Museum of History and Art (MNHA) will organise a major exhibition on the historical background, the establishment of universal suffrage in 1919 and the consequences of the democratisation process of Luxembourg’s society. In this context, a scientific conference will be held. It will cover both the origins of the discussion on universal suffrage and the struggle surrounding its introduction in the Grand Duchy as well as its establishment in the years 1917-1919 and its effects in the following decades.

Announcement

Argument

2019 marks the 100th anniversary of the introduction of universal suffrage in Luxembourg. On this occasion, the Chamber of Deputies and the National Museum of History and Art (MNHA) will organise a major exhibition on the historical background, the establishment of universal suffrage in 1919 and the consequences of the democratisation process of Luxembourg’s society. The exhibition runs at the MNHA until the 6th September 2020. In this context, a scientific conference will be held on the 28th and 29th February 2020. It will cover both the origins of the discussion on universal suffrage and the struggle surrounding its introduction in Europe and in the Grand Duchy as well as its establishment and its effects in the following decades.

Contributions to the conference should focus on universal suffrage in European and/or Luxembourgish history in a comparative and interdisciplinary approach (political, social, literary, art and media studies, etc.). One striking aspect of the Luxembourg situation was that the introduction of universal suffrage concerned all adult women as well as a considerable number of men who had been excluded by the census voting system. Contributions taking into account both women’s and men’s suffrage history will receive priority attention.

More specifically, the conference should bring together researchers interested in the following questions:

  1. Census suffrage and democracy

  • Census and universal suffrage: arguments and discourses
  • Emancipation movements
  • Influence of international developments and discourses on the debate in Luxembourg
  • Law and emancipation
  • 1830 / 1848 / 1919: universal suffrage and revolutions
  • Monarchs and census suffrage
  • Universal suffrage, a claim by the left or by the right
  • Political and societal movements and their attitudes towards the suffrage for women and for men
  • Feminism, suffrage and visions of gender complementarity
  1. The introduction of universal suffrage and its consequences

  • Democracy, language and nation
  • War and democracy
  • Monarchy and democracy
  • Parliamentary or popular democracy? The influence of the international communist movement
  • Major debates on electoral reform: universal suffrage, proportional suffrage, voting-splitting between candidate lists, introduction of constituencies, payment of representatives, concurrently held mandates, incompatibilities, compulsory voting, questions regarding electoral sections, referendum, …
  • Democracy and the crisis of parliamentarism in the interwar period
  • The parties and the new electorate after 1919
  • Parliament and the fear of the communist danger
  • The Chamber of Deputies during the Second World War
  1. Participation and representation since the end of the Second World War

  • The changing image of the role of members of parliament
  • 1930s and 1960s: the disappearance and the return of female politicians
  • The 1968 Cultural revolution and democracy
  • The emancipation of married women
  • Demands for gender equality
  • Social and demographic evolution, electorate and representativeness of the parliament
  • Right to vote and nationality
  • Calling into question of the electoral system: parity, single constituency, compulsory voting, vote splitting between candidate lists, …
  • Marches: democracy in the street?
  • Participation, referendum and direct democracy yesterday and today
  • Politics and polls
  • Democracy 4.0
  • Between ideology and marketing: the evolution of political campaigns

Submission Guidelines

Other thematic proposals regarding universal suffrage are welcome. Presentations should last for not more than 20 minutes. The conference will be held in French, German and English.

Please send an abstract of your contribution proposal (maximum 300 words), a short CV and a selection of previous publications related to the subject (maximum 5) to the following address: rwagener@chd.lu

extended deadline until 03.11.2019 

A publication of the papers is planned. Deadline for submission of the conference papers: 1.2.2020. Papers must not exceed a length of 40.000 characters (spaces and notes included). Contributions must either be written in French, German or English. The publishing committee reserves the right to publish only a selection of the contributions based on their quality and on the overall coherence of the publication.

Scientific coordinators

  • Régis Moes, conservateur au Musée national d'histoire et d'art
  • Claude Frieseisen, Secrétaire général de la Chambre des Députés
  • Michel Polfer, Dr. habil., directeur du Musée national d'histoire et d'art (MNHA)
  • Renée Wagener, PhD, assistante scientifique auprès de la Chambre des Députés

Places

  • Chambre des Députés du Luxembourg - 23, rue du Marché-aux-Herbes
    Luxembourg City, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (1728, Luxembourg)

Date(s)

  • Sunday, November 03, 2019

Keywords

  • suffrage universel, suffrage censitaire, suffrage des femmes, participation, représentation, démocratisation, démocratie 4.0, première guerre mondiale, révolution 1918-1919, système électoral

Contact(s)

  • Renée Wagener
    courriel : renee [dot] wagener [at] uni [dot] lu

Information source

  • Renée Wagener
    courriel : renee [dot] wagener [at] uni [dot] lu

License

CC0-1.0 This announcement is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal.

To cite this announcement

« 100 years of universal suffrage in Luxembourg », Call for papers, Calenda, Published on Thursday, December 27, 2018, https://doi.org/10.58079/11l6

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