See also: Academia.edu and Departmental web page

Emanuela Ceva is Assistant professor of Political philosophy at the University of Pavia (Department of Political and social studies). From 2007 to 2011 she was Senior Research Associate at the Institute for Advanced Study (IUSS) of Pavia.

She was the Scientific director of European research project RESPECT and is a member of the editorial boards of the journals Human Affairs and Res Publica.

In 2009 and 2010 she was Visiting Professor at the University of Jordan (Amman). In February and March 2010, she was Departmental Guest at the Center for Human Values of the Princeton University. From July to September 2012, she will be Jemolo Fellow at the Nuffield College, Oxford.

Education

Emanuela Ceva's field of research is analytic political philosophy. Her interests include questions of political obligation and dissent, theories of democracy and equal respect, and issues of pluralism and procedural justice.

She is currently developing two lines of research:

Justice and value conflicts. Political philosophers have traditionally addressed value conflicts in politics following two main strategies. On the one hand, one would find those realist, Hobbes-inspired theories assuming the ineliminability of conflicts and offering only ad hoc measures to contain them mainly out of prudence with a view to installing a modus vivendi. On the other hand, one would locate those ambitious, Rawls-inspired theories of public reason focusing on those forms of pluralism tamed by the commitment to reasonableness and proposing normatively demanding principles aimed at conflict resolution based on the parties reaching some form of moral consensus. Such a polarization of the debate, between conflict containment and conflict resolution, has led to neglecting a grey area where what scholars of peace studies call 'conflict management' becomes the relevant strategy. Theories of conflict management engage with the conflict dynamics and aim to transform the antagonistic interaction between the conflicting parties into a cooperative one, without aspiring the resolve the conflict. The importance of the quality of the interaction between the conflicting parties has been widely acknowledged by scholars in the field of peace studies but has received surprisingly little attention by justice-driven political philosophers. The research aims to bring out the philosophical importance of the conflict management phase and to develop a conception of justice capable of capturing its moral salience. Therefore the main research question is: what principles should regulate the interaction between conflicting parties for it to be morally acceptable to them?

Respect for dissenting minorities in a democracy. It is a widely supported claim that liberal democratic institutions should treat citizens with equal respect. What institutional arrangements would fulfil such a committment? To address this question, a specific issue is targeted as a sort of litmus test: how should liberal democratic institutions treat with respect citizens holding minority convictions, and thereby dissenting with a deliberative output? There is a common tendency in the literature to address this question concentrating on the structure of institutionalized decision-making processes (ex ante legem phase). The guiding hypothesis of the research is, rather, that the principle of equal respect for persons demands more of liberal democratic institutions by way of enhancing citizens' chances to speak up their consciences and influence, on this ground, the formulation of the rules to which they should conform. Fulfilling this commitment requires democratic theorizing to go beyond the ex ante legem phase and regard forms of ex post legem contestation as an extension of citizens' right to political participation. On this backdrop, an ex post legem version of conscientious exemptionism is defended, recognizing to citizens a conditional moral right to request exemptions on the grounds of conscience from certain controversial legal and political provisions.

Funded research projects

• FIRB Project (funded by the Italian Ministry of Higher Education and Research) ‘Feeding' respect. Food policies and minority claims in multicultural societies. Duration: 3 years (Mar 2012 - ). Rolo in the project: Principal Investigator. Partner institutions: Università di Pavia, Università di Milano, Università di Bologna.

  Abstract: Respect for persons has been frequently invoked as the inspiring ideal of many social policies both at a national and at a European level. In particular, references to respect are often associated with those to toleration vis-à-vis the need to accommodate minority claims within multicultural societies. Minority claims for accommodation are put forward in connection with many crucial aspects of a person's life, including dress-codes, days of rest from work and dietary habits. Although dietary habits can be thought to be constituent of a person's cultural, ethical and religious identity, few studies have been entirely devoted to analysing this aspect as a source of possible requests for differential treatment. Dietary habits are thought to play an important role in the way in which a person sees herself in relation to one of the most fundamental activities of her daily life: her nourishment. Therefore, a study devoted to such themes is crucial to the development of policies respectful of a plurality of personal choices, cultural practices and religious prescriptions. .

• PRIN Project (funded by the Italian Ministry of Higher Education and Research) Toleration as equal respect: the normative bases of spatial policies. Duration: 2 years (Mar 2010 - ). Partner institutions: IUSS, Pavia; Università del Piemonte Orientale, Vercelli; Università S. Raffaele, Milano.

  Abstract: Equal respect can be seen as a fundamental value that underlies the two most common conceptions of toleration of contemporary political theory. Both the neutralist ideal of toleration, implying the advocacy of universal social, civil and political rights, and the approach of toleration as recognition calling for identity-specific claims, refer to the fundamental value of respect for persons. This project analyzes the idea of toleration as equal respect at three levels: i) Ethical analysis: moral foundations of the notion of equal respect and the interpretation of respect in terms of the notion of recognition; ii) Normative political analysis: the role of equal recognition respect in explicating the idea of toleration, and the normative political implications of the idea of toleration as equal respect; iii) Study of the concrete applications of the idea of toleration as equal respect in policies concerning the distribution of spaces. Through an analysis of the distributive questions focused on public spaces, we aim to show that the sharp dichotomy distribution vs. recognition is misleading, since in these cases questions of distribution usually involve claims of recognition.

• Collaborative Research Project RESPECT - Towards a 'Topography' of Tolerance and Equal Respect. A comparative study of policies for the distribution of public spaces in culturally diverse societies , funded by the European Commission - Seventh Framework Programme (FP7)]. Duration: 2 years (Jan 2010 - Dec 2011). Role in the project: Scientific Coordinator. Partner institutions: IUSS - Pavia, University of Copenhagen, University of West Bohemia - Pilsen, University of Rennes I, Peking University, University of Wales - Newport, Università del Piemonte Orientale - Vercelli, Ural State University, Cyprus Center for European and International Affairs, University of Ljubljana, Central European University, European Humanities University, Tel-Aviv University, Technische Universitaet Darmstadt.

  Abstract: Tolerance has been increasingly invoked as the inspiring ideal of a number of social policies in European democracies. Appeals to tolerance have animated especially the political debates on those policies addressed to accommodate minorities' requests. Among such requests those for the allocation of public spaces have recently acquired pride of place in the political agendas of many European and extra-European countries (e.g. the allocation of space for Roma sites; Muslims' requests to build places of worship and housing policies for migrants). Despite such a generalized political and societal relevance of the notion of tolerance, some problems may occur when policies inspired by it are implemented. In particular, the implementation of tolerance-inspired spatial policies may result in the marginalisation of differences and thus risk undermining social cohesion. What conception of tolerance may be invoked to limit such a risk? To answer this question, we shall test the hypothesis that grounding tolerance on equal respect for persons may contribute to the development of spatial policies capable of resolving the tensions between tolerance and social cohesion in culturally diverse societies.

• FIRB Project (funded by the Italian Ministry of Higher Education and Research) Toward an integrated view of human rights and human development: theoretical foundations, measurement issues and policy implications. Duration: 3 years (Jul 2007 - Jul 2010). Partner institutions: IUSS, Pavia; Università di Pavia; Università di Padova; University of Jordan, Amman.

  Abstract: A comprehensive understanding of the subjects of human rights and human development – and their distinctive relation to poverty, unemployment and other socio-economic matters – is at present of utmost importance for the Mediterranean area, where many countries are going through a period of political and social transformation. Therefore, grasping the dynamics between these inter-connected spheres represents a valuable contribution towards the sustainable development of the region. The research activities focus on the interrelated fields of human development and human rights within the theoretical framework of the capability approach, originally formulated by Amartya Sen.

• STREP Project EuroEthos - Exploring the Scope for a Shared European Pluralistic Ethos. A comparative investigation of religious and secular ethically-derived requests for exemption from the law in an enlarging Europe, funded by the European Commission - Sixth Framework Programme (FP6). Duration: 2 years (Jan 2007 - Dec 2008). Role in the project: Project Manager and Objective Coordinator. Partner institutions: Università di Trento; University of Wales, Newport; University of West Bohemia, Pilsen; University of Bremen; University of Valencia; Comenius University, Bratislava; Bilkent University, Ankara.

  Abstract: The politics of handling cultural diversity is one of the major issues in the construction of Europe, especially in light of the enlargement of the EU. The EuroEthos project aims to explore the possible scope for a shared European ethos through the analysis of political and legal questions concerning issues of religious and secular ethics-based requests for exemption from the law, in the belief that the study of such issues provides precious indications on how societies try to handle a plurality of values.

• (with Enzo Rossi), Diversity, Legitimacy and Justice. Political Authority Between Realism and Moralism, forthcoming (2012) as a special issue of the Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy and as a book by Routledge.
  
  
• (with Gideon Calder), Diversity in Europe: Dilemmas of Diffential Treatment in Theory and Practice, Routledge, London, 2010.
  
  
• Un'etica pubblica europea?, Notizie di Politeia Symposium, XXV (95), 2009.

• "Beyond Legitimacy. Can Proceduralism Say Anything Relevant About Justice?", Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy, forthcoming.
• "Just Interactions in Value Conflicts: The Avdersary Argumentation Principle", Politics, Philosophy & Economics, DOI: 10.1177/1470594X11416780.
• "Self-legislation, Respect, and the Reconciliation of Minority Claims", Journal of Applied Philosophy, 28 (1), 2011, pp. 14-28.
• "Anything goes? La giustizia procedurale e il disaccordo morale", Filosofia & Questioni Pubbliche, 1, 2010.
• (with A. Fracasso) "Seeking mutual understanding: a discourse theoretical analysis of the WTO Dispute Settlement System", World Trade Review, 9 (3), 2010, pp. 457-485.
• "Come dovrebbe rispondere una teoria della giustizia ai conflitti di valori? Alcune considerazioni meta-teoriche", Rivista di Filosofia, 101 (1), 2010, pp. 81-97.
• "Just Procedures with Controversial Outcomes. On the grounds for substantive disputation within a procedural theory of justice", Res Publica, 15 (3), 2009, pp. 219-235 (link to a previous version discussed at the Podcast Symposium organised by the blog Public Reason).
• (with G. Calder) "Values, Diversity and the Justification of EU Institutions", Political Studies, 57 (4), 2009, pp. 828-845.
• "In varietate concordia. Quali prospettive per un'etica pubblica europea?", Notizie di Politeia, XXV (95), 2009, pp. 3-15.
• "Valori plurali e giustificazione politica: Una proposta di minimalismo procedurale", Ragion Pratica, (31) 2, 2008, pp. 433-452.
• "Impure Procedural Justice and the Management of Conflicts about Values", Polish Journal of Philosophy, 2 (1), 2008, pp. 5-22.
• "Per una teoria politica della giustizia tra questioni di giustificazione e applicabilità", Teoria Politica, 23 (2), 2007, pp. 65-78.
• "Plural Values and Heterogeneous Situations. Considerations on the scope for a political theory of justice", European Journal of Political Theory, 6(3), 2007. pp. 359-375.
• "Il principio di contraddittorio e la gestione dei conflitti di valore", Notizie di Politeia, XXII (83), 2006, pp.45-62.
• "Liberal pluralism and pluralist liberalism", Res Publica, 11(2), 2005, pp.201-211
• "Le molte facce del pluralismo. Un approccio procedurale", Il Politico, LXIX (1), 2004, pp. 57-75
• "Verso una Definizione di Pluralismo", Dissensi. Rivista Italiana di Scienze Sociali, 3, 2003, pp. 185-191

• "The appeal to conscience and the accommodation of minority claims", in G. Calder, E. Ceva (eds), Diversity in Europe, Routledge, 2010.
• "Introduction: differential treatment and the negotiation of minority issues in Europe", in G. Calder, E. Ceva (eds), Diversity in Europe, Routledge, 2010 (with G. Calder).
• "Conclusions: on the possibilities and limitations of differential treatment", in G. Calder, E. Ceva (eds), Diversity in Europe, Routledge, 2010 (with G. Calder).
• "An ex post legem approach to the reconciliation of minority issues in contemporary democracies", in M. Mookherjee (ed.), Democracy, Religious Pluralism and the Liberal Dilemma of Accommodation, Springer, 2010.
• "Universalismo repubblicano e politiche multiculturali. Modelli di cittadinanza a confronto", in D. Costantini (ed.), Multiculturalismo alla francese?, Firenze University Press, 2009 (full text available here).
• "Pluralità etico-religiosa e giustizia politica", in A. Ferrara (ed.), Religione e politica nella società post-secolare, Meltemi, 2009 (link to a previous version of the paper published in the website of the Italian Society for Political Philosophy.
• "Giustizia procedurale e pluralismo dei valori", in M. Ricciardi and C. Del Bò (ed.), Pluralismo e libertà fondamentali, Giuffrè, 2004 (link to the paper published in the website of the Italian Society for Political Philosophy.

• (with Federico Zuolo) "A Matter of Respect. On the relation between the majority and minorities in a democracy", RESPECT Project Working Paper Series, 8/2011.
• "Value Conflicts, Adversary Argumentation and Procedural Equality", LPF Working Papers, 2/2010, Laboratorio di Politica Comparata e di Filosofia Pubblica, Centro Einaudi, Torino.
• (with Andrea Fracasso) "Seeking Mutual Understanding. A Discourse Theoretical Analysis of the WTO Dispute Settlement System", LPF Working Papers, 1/2009, Laboratorio di Politica Comparata e di Filosofia Pubblica, Centro Einaudi, Torino.
• "'Audi Alteram Partem' but Why? On procedural equality and justice", HDCP-IRC WORKING PAPER SERIES, 10/2008, Human Development, Capability and Poverty International Research Centre, Institute for Advanced Study Pavia.
• "The principle of adversary argument. Justice between substance and procedures", MANCEPT Working Papers, 11/05, Manchester Centre for Political Theory, University of Manchester.
• "Impure procedural justice and the management of conflicts about values", MANCEPT Working Papers, 10/05, Manchester Centre for Political Theory, University of Manchester.

• Resolving, Containing, Managing: What Response to Value Conflicts in Politics? (Conference on Peace or Justice? The Implications of Value Pluralism, University of Hamburg, 14-15 July 2011).
• Beyond Legitimacy: Can Proceduralism Say Anything Relevant about Justice?(Association for Legal and Social Philosophy Annual Conference, University of Warwick, 4-6 July 2011)
• Why toleration is not the appropriate response to dissenting minorities' claims(Conference on Conscience, Manchester Centre for Political Theory, 13 May 2011).
• An Ex post legem Approach to the Reconciliation of Minority Issues in Contemporary Democracies (Conference on Between Rawls and Religion, LUISS Roma, 16-18 December 2010).
• Resolving, Containing, Managing: What Response to Value Conflicts in Politics? (Conference on Democracy and Legitimacy: Dealing with Extremism, Central European University, Budapest, 22-23 July 2010).
• A Respect-Based Argument for Conscientious Exemptions in a Liberal Democracy. (Association for Legal and Social Philosophy Annual Conference, University of Southampton (UK), 8-10 April 2010).
• Some Thoughts on Procedural Respect for Minorities and Dissent (Society for Applied Philosophy Annual Conference, Manchester Centre for Political Theory (UK), 4-6 July 2008).
• Some Thoughts on Procedural Respect for Minorities and Dissent (SIFA - Italian Society for Analytic Philosophy Midterm Conference on Equal Respect for Persons. Its Foundations and Its Implications for Political and Legal Institutions University of Genoa, 13-14 December 2007).
• Pluralità etico-religiosa e giustizia politica (SIFP – Italian Society for Political Philosophy Biannual Congress on Politics and Religion in a post-secular society Rome, 13-15 September 2007).
• Per una giustificazione delle istituzioni politiche in condizioni di disaccordo: Quali valori? (SISP – Italian Society for Political Science Annual Congress, University of Bologna, 12 - 14 September 2006)
• Justification and Applicability. Considerations on the scope for a political theory of justice (Association for Legal and Social Philosophy Annual Conference on Social Justice in Practice, University College Dublin, 28 June – 1 July 2006)
• Pluralism and the Scope for a Political Theory of Justice (Workshops in Political Theory, Manchester Metropolitan University, 7-9 September 2005)
• The Principle of Adversary Argument. Justice Between Substance and Procedures (7^th Congress of the Austrian Society for Philosophy on Justice: In Search of a Balance, University of Salzburg , 1-4 February 2004)
• Proceduralism: A Theory of Justice for the Pluralist Community (Society for Applied European Thought Conference on Meanings of Community, 5-11 July 2003, Palacky University, Olomouc, Czech Repubblic)
• Justice and Disagreement: A Procedural Approach, (Association for Legal and Social Philosophy Annual Conference, 3-5 April 2003, University of Newcastle)