Democracy: Dead or Alive?

Gedeeltelijk in het Engels

Festival met discussies, lezingen, workshops, muziek en meer

Antidemocratische krachten zijn in opmars: van extremistische partijen die in de peilingen sterk stijgen tot tech-jongens die het internet proberen over te nemen. Ondertussen worden de echte problemen van onze tijd niet opgelost. Heeft de democratie haar hoogtijdagen achter zich? Wat zijn de gevolgen van de uitholling van de democratie voor instellingen als het Internationaal Strafhof en de VN? En waarom kiezen we in onzekere tijden keer op keer voor meer autoritaire leiders?

Verwacht een breed en gevarieerd programma dat zich over meerdere zalen uitstrekt. Van lezingen en debatten over de huidige toestand van de democratische wereld tot meer praktische sessies. Aan het einde van de avond gaan we dansen – om onze democratieën te vieren of om erom te rouwen.

Festival with talks, music and more

Anti-democratic forces are on the rise: from extremist parties surging in the polls, to tech bros trying to take over the internet. All the while, the real problems of our time are not being solved. Has democracy had its best time? What is the effect of democratic erosion on institutions like the International Criminal Court and the UN? And why do we time and again seek out more authoritarian leaders in uncertain times?

Just after the US midterms, Arminius will be the stage for the festivalDemocracy: Dead or Alive? with a broad and diverse programme across multiple rooms. From lectures and debates on the current state of the democratic world to more hands-on sessions about actively participating in and bolstering democracy. At the end of the night we will dance to either celebrate or cry over our democracies.

Alanna O’Malleyis professor and Chair of Global Governance and Wealth at Erasmus University, specializing in international relations, the United Nations, decolonization, and the Global South. What does the undermining of international institutions mean for the democratic world order? 

Carolien van Hamis Professor of Empirical Political Science at Radboud University Nijmegen. Her research focuses on democratic erosion, political representation and the integrity of elections.  How do democracies falter? And what can we do to ‘save’ our democracies?

Vincent Blokis professor at the Erasmus School of Philosophy, specializing in disruptive technologies and the human condition. He will discuss the appeal of Ernst Jünger’s work for younger generations, searching for strong, often autocratic leaders, and what this reveals about contemporary politics.

Milan Stürmeris postdoctoral researcher at Erasmus School of Philosophy and coordinator at the Erasmus Institute for Philosophy and Technology. His research explores technofascism, the political epistemology and economy of artificial intelligence, and the development of a contemporary philosophy of technology.

Mark van Vugtis professor of Evolutionary Psychology at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and Research Associate in Politics and International Relations at the University of Oxford. He currently focuses on leadership, examining why some individuals are attracted to strong, autocratic leaders and how this shapes their subsequent attitudes and behavior.

Sarah de Langeis professor of Dutch Politics at Leiden University, where she coordinates the Comparative and Dutch Politics cluster and theCentrum voor Nederlandse Politiek en Bestuur. She is an expert on new social and political divides, and the rise and impact of far-right parties on party systems and democracy.