Democratic Self-Defence: Normative Perspectives
- Date: 26 May 2025, 09:30 – 27 May 2025, 14:30
- Location: Gyllenhielmska Library, Skytteanum, Valvgatan 4, Uppsala
- Type: Workshop
- Organiser: Department of Government and Uppsala Forum
- Contact person: 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