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Short Talks | DEMOCRACIES UNDER PRESSURE

The future of democracy is uncertain. Autocracies ready to use violence, the rise of populist, illiberal forces within Europe, extreme cultural and social polarization are condensing into an acute crisis. How do liberal societies react to this? Does democracy need to be defended?

On three evenings in 2023, SCRIPTS researchers discussed these questions on the current crisis of democracy with journalists Christoph D. Piorkowski or Eva Murašov. The short talks addressed internal as well as external contestations, new conflicts between political systems, but also within the liberal orders itself: For it is not only the aggression emanating from Putin’s Russia or authoritarian nationalisms that puts democracies under pressure. More than ever before, liberalism is also confronted with its internal contradictions, structural injustices and historical mortgages.

Language. German. Live at the Humboldt Lab at the Humboldt Forum, Berlin (Entrance Passage) with free admission. An event series of the Cluster of Excellence "Contestations of the Liberal Script (SCRIPTS) in cooperation with Humboldt Labor of the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.

Videos of the past events will be published soon!

Short Talk | Democracies under Pressure #1: Putin’s Russia | Wed, 15 March 2023, 6:30 pm

Political scientist and Eastern Europe expert Gwendolyn Sasse answered questions about Putin's fight against the liberal-democratic order in a short talk.

Short Talk | Democracies under Pressure #2: Freedom as a Problem | Wed, 19 April 2023, 6:30 pm

Philosopher and SCRIPTS researcher Stefan Gosepath will answered questions about self-contradictions, legacies and unfulfilled promises of the liberal script in a short talk.

Short Talk | Democracies under Pressure #3: Contestations | Monday, 22 May 2023

Political scientist and SCRIPTS researcher Tanja A. Börzel answered questions on the situation and challenges of contemporary liberal democracies in a short talk.