Democratic Self-Defence: Normative Perspectives

  • Datum: 26 maj 2025, kl. 9.30 – 27 maj 2025, kl. 14.30
  • Typ: Workshop
  • Arrangör: Department of Government and Uppsala Forum
  • Kontaktperson: Anthoula Malkopoulou

The aim of this international workshop is to move from debates about how much and where democratic erosion is taking place to debates about how democratic regimes and actors can protect themselves. It will focus on the theoretical implications of resisting ongoing processes of autocratization, and in particular, on normative and ethical dilemmas regarding the protection of the rule of law and democracy. The aim is to open up a debate on the risks, benefits, complexities, tensions and ethical puzzles involved in defending democracy, with contributions by leading scholars in political theory, law and comparative politics who have shaped the research agenda on democratic self-defence. The papers will be included in the Oxford Handbook of Democratic Self-Defence, due to be published in 2027. At a time of deepening global democratic recession, this workshop aims to provide authoritative insights into the solutions that democratic self-defence can offer, and the dilemmas and risks that surround it.

Supported by:
Uppsala Forum on Democracy, Peace and Justice
Carlsberg Foundation
Atmer Foundation

Programme:

Monday 26 May 2025

Chair: Bastiaan Rijpkema (Leiden University)

09:30-10:00: Anthoula Malkopoulou, Welcome & Introduction

10:00 - 10:45: Andreas Schedler (Central European University), Dilemmas of democratic vigilance

Coffee Break 30’

11:15 - 12:00: Benjamin A. Schupmann (National University of Singapore), Legal revolution and militant democracy

Lunch + Walk 1h30’

13:30 - 14:15: Aziz Huq (University of Chicago), Courts as instruments of democratic resilience

Coffee Break 30’

14:45 - 15:30: Alexander Kirshner (Duke University), The Future of militant democracy: A theoretical agenda

15:30 - 16:30: Editors’ meeting

18:00: Dinner

Tuesday 27 May 2025

Chair: Cristobal Rovira Kaltwasser (Pontifical Catholic University of Chile)

09:15 - 10:00: Stefan Rummens (KU Leuven), The concentric containment of extremist challengers

10:00 - 10:45: Gabriele Badano (University of York), Rawlsean Democratic Self-Defence: A further specification of a normative model

Coffee Break 30’

11:15 - 12:00: Corrado Fumagalli (University of Genoa), Counter-speech and the deterioration of democratic communication

Lunch 1h

13:00 - 14:00: Tore V. Olsen (Aarhus University), Duty to Resist and Civil Disobedience in the Protection of Democratic Rights

14:00 - 14:30: Wrap-up & discussion

14:30-16:00: Editors’ meeting

Welcome!

RSVP 19 May to

anthoula.malkopoulou@statsvet.uu.se

FÖLJ UPPSALA UNIVERSITET PÅ

Uppsala universitet på facebook
Uppsala universitet på Instagram
Uppsala universitet på Youtube
Uppsala universitet på Linkedin