Our Project

Our conference is part of a broader project entitled “Liberalism and Conservatism at the Crossroads”, launched in September 2022 by researchers from the AGORA research unit (EA 7392) at CYU (Cergy Paris University) and the ICD unit (Cultural and Discursive Interactions, EA 6297) at UT (University of Tours). The project began with a series of monthly public seminars, which are still going strong.

Within the project’s framework, researchers critically examine the ideological evolution between liberalism and conservatism, shedding light on both the enduring nature and doctrinal ruptures between these two traditions; their respective influence on contemporary economic, social, and legal models; and their role in shaping categories such as the public interest, the individual, responsibility, order, and freedom. The aim is to build a critical mapping of political concepts deployed today by analysing their historical roots, their semantic shifts, and their strategic uses in contemporary public debates in the English-speaking world.