The Melbourne Political, Legal and Social Theory Network (MPLAST), established in 2018, is a Melbourne-wide forum that brings together theorists based at multiple Melbourne universities, campuses, and departments, working across intersecting disciplinary research fields.
It provides a unique cross-institutional opportunity for intellectual exchange and research collaboration by convening a regular series of theoretically-focused research events. These include work-in-progress research workshops, seminars, reading groups, and retreats.
By bringing together theoretical perspectives from disciplines of politics, law, philosophy, and the social sciences, MPLAST fosters innovation on critical societal challenges that arise through complex interactions among political, legal and social systems – at international as well as domestic levels. These include in particular: regulating institutional power and governance processes; pursuing justice, democracy and legitimacy in public institutions; cultivating collective action; and designing law and policy to address new and enduring social problems.
