Upcoming at American University, the Sixth North American Baha’i Conference on Law: “Exploring the Intersections of Religion and Governance: Past, Present and Future” (October 9-11, 2008):
This conference explores what positive role, if any, can religion (broadly defined to include all moral and religious traditions) make to governance (also broadly defined as traditions, institutions and processes by which authority is exercised in a given society). Under what conditions may religion or faith be relevant to questions of “good governance”? Since the mid-1990s good governance has been seen as a condition for development aid judged by the following criteria: accountability, responsiveness, transparency, participation and responsibility. This conference aims to probe the religious underpinnings of these concepts. In turn, this may shed light on whether such characterizations of “good governance” are uniquely Western, either in origin or present applicability. What is the role of “faith” in identifying and developing criteria for good governance?
More details and full agenda here.