LIST OF PANELS

This panel invites scholars to focus on different aspects of morality policy. Policies are commonly referred to as morality policies when conflict over basic beliefs and first principles dominate political disputes and discourses. Typically, policy areas like the regulation of euthanasia, prostitution, abortion, stem-cell research, or sexuality are considered to represent such morality policies. Instead of material concerns questions relating directly to core beliefs and values are at the heart of regulatory questions policy-makers are confronted with: Policy decisions in these areas are thus fundamentally concerned with decisions about ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ that directly touch upon people’s life and their identity. In most Western countries, morality issues have gained increasing importance in recent years. While abortion was the first morality issue to attract broad political attention back in the 1960s, a growing number of issues has since been politicized as morality conflicts. At the same time, this development implies that the regulation of morality issues has been subject to far-reaching changes in many countries. The most prominent examples include the introduction of same-sex union in many Western democracies and regulations defining the conditions for euthanasia, stem-cell research, and assisted reproductive technology (ART). At first glance, these developments suggest that there is a general trend towards more permissive approaches in moral regulation. However, closer examinations reveal that while many countries have addressed these morality issues in recent decades, the actual degree of permissiveness of regulation varies considerably. This panel addresses scholars interested in the sources of variation in the regulation of morality policy issues. How well are common theoretical approaches equipped to account for such variation? What is the role of political parties in this context? And which other political, or societal factors influence varying patterns of morality policy change? This panel welcomes all papers interested in questions of this kind.  

This panel enables scholars to focus on morality policy. Policies are commonly referred to as morality policies when conflict over basic beliefs and first principles dominate political disputes and discourses. Typically, policy areas like the regulation of euthanasia, prostitution, abortion, stem-cell research, or sexuality are considered to represent such morality policies. Instead of material concerns questions relating directly to core beliefs and values are at the heart of regulatory questions policy-makers are confronted with: When does life begin and can people decide for themselves when and how to end their lives? What kinds of sexual orientations and behaviours can be pursued? What is the place of prostitution in society? Policy decisions in these areas are thus fundamentally concerned with decisions about ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ that touch upon issues that directly concern people’s live and their identity. In most Western countries, morality issues have gained increasing importance in recent years. While abortion was the first morality issue to attract broad political attention back in the 1960s/1970s, a growing number of issues has since then been politicized as morality conflicts. At the same time, this development implies that the regulation of morality issues has been subject to far-reaching changes in many countries. The most prominent examples include the introduction of same-sex union and marriage in many Western democracies and regulations defining the conditions for euthanasia, stem-cell research, and assisted reproductive technology (ART). At first glance, these developments suggest that there is a general trend towards more permissive approaches in moral regulation. However, a closer examination reveals that while many countries have addressed these morality issues in recent decades, the actual degree of permissiveness of regulation varies considerably. This panel brings together papers interested in the sources of such variation in the regulation of morality policy issues. How well are common theoretical approaches equipped to account for such variation? What is the role of political parties in this context? And which other institutional, political, or societal factors influence varying patterns of morality policy change? This panel hopes to further the theoretical debate while also leaving enough room for discussions about the methodological challenges involved in empirical analyses of morality policy change.