CfP: antimicrobial resistence, historical responsibility and intergenerational justice

Intergenerational Justice

Journal: Monash Bioethics Review

Guest editor: Romina Rekers

Opening date: 01.07.2025

Closing date: 30.11.2025

The development of antimicrobials has historically contributed significantly to human progress. However, their overuse and misuse have led to one of the most pressing global health threats: antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

As with climate change, the Global North has benefited more from the past use of antimicrobials, while the Global South bears a disproportionate share of the harms and risks associated with AMR. The distribution of AMR burdens is also shaped by interconnected historical injustices, such as colonization, as well as present-day structural inequalities inherited from that past.

At the same time, how the current generation responds to AMR will profoundly impact the health and well-being of future generations. That is why many efforts are now focused on building a sustainable future in the context of AMR. Achieving this future requires a transition that addresses questions of justice and morality—such as the significance of past benefits in the distribution of present burdens, the ethical implications of continuing unsustainable antimicrobial use, and the moral weight of current and future generations' basic needs in shaping those burdens.

This special issue invites papers that engage with the intergenerational dimensions of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) from ethical, social, historical, and political perspectives. It also welcomes case studies that address the normative challenges posed by intergenerational aspects of AMR.

This special issue is an outcome of the workshop A Sustainable Future with Antimicrobial Resistance, organized in the context of the FWF project A Political Conception of Transitional Justice.

The entire issue will be published Open Access, meaning all articles will be freely and immediately available online, thereby increasing public engagement and accessibility. In cases where the authors’ institutions do not have an Open Access agreement (https://www.springernature.com/gp/open-science/oa-agreements) or project funds to cover the fees, the costs will be covered by the FWF project A Political Conception of Transitional Justice. 

You can find the guidelines for authors here.