On 09 January 2023, 6:15-7:45 PM,  Christoph Möllers (HU Berlin/SCRIPTS), Andreas Reckwitz (HU Berlin), Hedwig Richter (UniBw München) and Michael Zürn (WZB/FU Berlin/SCRIPTS) discussed the Böckenförde dilemma "Der freiheitliche, säkularisierte Staat lebt von Voraussetzungen, die er selbst nicht garantieren kann."

Language: German

About the lecture series "Contestations about and in liberal orders: On the Critique and Future of the Liberal Script"

The stakes are high: the future of democracy and the international liberal order no longer seems secure 30 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Western chants of triumph that accompanied it. Russia's breach of international law in Ukraine and a new war in Europe, the return of the Taliban in Afghanistan, Trumpism in the U.S., the emergence of authoritarian populist parties everywhere, China's rapid rise, Brexit, or international terrorism - the external and internal challenges to what has been called the "liberal script" are manifold. The U.S.-led order established since the Cold War is weakening. At the same time, new protest movements point to the ambiguities and tensions in liberal societies: racism and exclusion of BIPoC and FLINTA*, militarized border regimes, or the extreme inequality in so-called meritocracies expose the promises of the liberal script as illusions. How do liberal societies respond to this? Will the "liberal script" perish, change, or emerge stronger from the crises? What response do competing order(s) have to the global climate crisis, migration, or international security?

SCRIPTS brings together outstanding research from the Cluster of Excellence and interdisciplinary perspectives on current contestations of the liberal order. Michael Zürn introduces the theoretical foundations and the problem and leads through the further sessions on regional and thematic emphases, internal tensions and critiques of the liberal script together with SCRIPTS researchers and selected guests.

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About "Offener Hörsaal"

For more than thirty years Freie Universität has been holding public lectures over a broad range of topics. Interested individuals are invited to attend the lectures and and gain insights into well-founded analyses of current issues and new findings from all fields of research that are presented in a generally understandable manner. The lectures offer dialog and discussion about many issues in scholarship and science, society, nature, and technology. More information here.