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Event Series

Democracy and Its Critics Initiative

 



Over the past decade, democracy has been under siege in Europe and the United States. The disruptions caused by the rise of polarization and radical right forces, triggered by economic instability, demographic shifts, and technological change represent deep challenges to the basic patterns of democratic governance that we have taken for granted for decades. The disruptions bind the transatlantic world together and raise fundamental questions: How should we understand this tumult? What is causing it? What are the responses to it? These questions have given rise to shared and parallel debates about the promise and peril of democracy across Europe and in the United States.

The Democracy and its Critics Initiative was launched by the Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies (CES) to focus on both the history and contemporary shape of democracy in Europe, and provide a platform for events, conferences, and research on these pressing issues.

The first event launched on September 19 with a keynote address by CES Senior Fellow Michael Ignatieff, who delivered the inaugural Václav Havel Lecture on Human Rights, Civil Society and Democracy.

The Initiative's inaugural conference titled "Balancing Majority and Minority Rights - The Dilemma of Majority-Constraining Institutions in an Age of Democratic Backsliding" will take place on February 28.

The Center is also host a series entitled “Questions of Fascism and Democracy,” which will be co-chaired by CES Resident Faculty Peter Gordon & CES Director Daniel Ziblatt. The series will host the following speakers:

  • Federico Marcon (Princeton University)
  • William E. Scheuerman (Indiana University)
  • Michelle Lynn Kahn (University of Richmond)
  • Lenka Bustikova (University of Florida)
  • Federico Finchelstein (The New School for Social Research)
  • Katie Ebner-Landy (Harvard University)
  • Jeffrey Kopstein (University of California, Irvine)
  • Stephen Hanson (William & Mary)
  • Eugene Finkel (Johns Hopkins University)

This series is a CES-wide initiative, and we welcome proposals, suggestions, and collaborations from anyone in the CES community. Please contact the Center Directors Daniel Ziblatt and Elaine Papoulias.

Events Calendar

The University in the Age of Authoritarianism: Past, Present, and Future Democracy and Its Critics Initiative & Weatherhead Initiative on Global History — The University in the Age of Authoritarianism: Past, Present, and Future
April 17, 2025
4:00pm - 5:30pm
  • Sugata Bose – Gardiner Professor of Oceanic History and Affairs, Department of History, Harvard University
  • Laura Jakli – Assistant Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School
  • William C. Kirby – T. M. Chang Professor of China Studies, Harvard University; Spangler Family Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School
  • Chair Sven Beckert – Laird Bell Professor of History, Harvard University; Faculty Associate, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University and Daniel Ziblatt – Director, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies & Eaton Professor of the Science of Government, Harvard University; Unit Director, Transformations of Democracy, WZB Berlin Social Science Center
Intent to Destroy: Russia's Two-Hundred-Year Quest to Dominate Ukraine Questions of Fascism and Democracy Lecture Series — Intent to Destroy: Russia's Two-Hundred-Year Quest to Dominate Ukraine
April 15, 2025
4:00pm - 5:30pm
  • Eugene Finkel – Kenneth H. Keller Professor of International Affairs, Johns Hopkins University, School of Advance International Studies
  • Serhii Plokhii – Mykhailo Hrushevskyi Professor of Ukrainian History, Harvard University; Director, Ukrainian Research Institute, Harvard University
  • Chair Daniel Ziblatt – Director, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies & Eaton Professor of the Science of Government, Harvard University; Unit Director, Transformations of Democracy, WZB Berlin Social Science Center
Europe’s Little Divergence in Urban Knowledge Economies Seminar on European Development in a Historical Perspective — Europe’s Little Divergence in Urban Knowledge Economies
April 14, 2025
3:00pm - 5:00pm
  • Gary Cox – William Bennett Munro Professor of Political Science, Stanford University
  • Chair Caterina Chiopris – Academy Scholar, Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies, Harvard University; Seminar Chair, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
Book Discussion | The Assault on the State Questions of Fascism and Democracy Lecture Series — Book Discussion | The Assault on the State
April 8, 2025
4:00pm - 5:30pm
  • Stephen Hanson – Lettie Pate Evans Professor, The College of William & Mary; Visiting Scholar 2022-2023, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
  • Jeffrey S. Kopstein – Dean's Professor of Political Science, University of California, Irvine; James Bryant Conant Fellow in Germany and European Studies (1995-1996), Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
  • Steven Levitsky – Director, David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies, Harvard University; David Rockefeller Professor of Latin American Studies and Professor of Government, Harvard University
  • Theda Skocpol – Victor S. Thomas Professor of Government and Sociology, Harvard University; Faculty Associate, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
  • Chair Daniel Ziblatt – Director, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies & Eaton Professor of the Science of Government, Harvard University; Unit Director, Transformations of Democracy, WZB Berlin Social Science Center
Resisting Authoritarian Populism: What Is To Be Done? Questions of Fascism and Democracy Lecture Series — Resisting Authoritarian Populism: What Is To Be Done?
April 3, 2025
4:30pm - 6:30pm
  • William E. Scheuerman – James H. Rudy Professor of Political Science, Indiana University, Bloomington
  • Chair Peter E. Gordon – Amabel B. James Professor of History, Harvard University; Resident Faculty & Seminar Chair, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University; Faculty Affiliate, Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures; Department of Government; and Department of Philosophy, Harvard University
Dependent Territories in International Relations Seminar on European Development in a Historical Perspective — Dependent Territories in International Relations
March 24, 2025
3:00pm - 5:00pm
  • Melissa Lee – Klein Family Presidential Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Pennsylvania; Director, World House Student Fellows Program, Perry World House, University of Pennsylvania
  • Chair Daniel Lowery – Ph.D. Student in Government, Harvard University; Graduate Student Affiliate & Seminar Chair, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
Late Fascist Aesthetics: A Theory of the Online Forum Questions of Fascism and Democracy Lecture Series — Late Fascist Aesthetics: A Theory of the Online Forum
March 12, 2025
4:00pm - 6:00pm
  • Katie Ebner-Landy – Junior Fellow, Harvard Society of Fellows, Harvard University
  • Chair Peter E. Gordon – Amabel B. James Professor of History, Harvard University; Resident Faculty & Seminar Chair, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University; Faculty Affiliate, Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures; Department of Government; and Department of Philosophy, Harvard University
Uncivil Society and Polarization in Eastern Europe Questions of Fascism and Democracy Lecture Series — Uncivil Society and Polarization in Eastern Europe
March 5, 2025
4:00pm - 6:00pm
  • Lenka Bustikova – Professor of Political Science, University of Florida
  • Chair Peter E. Gordon – Amabel B. James Professor of History, Harvard University; Resident Faculty & Seminar Chair, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University; Faculty Affiliate, Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures; Department of Government; and Department of Philosophy, Harvard University
Panel 4 | Are Constraints on Democracy Good or Bad? Conference | Balancing Majority and Minority Rights – The Dilemma of Majority-Constraining Institutions in an Age of Democratic Backsliding
Conference — Panel 4 | Are Constraints on Democracy Good or Bad?
February 28, 2025
3:45pm - 5:15pm
  • Claudia Landwehr – Professor of Political Theory and Public Policy, University of Mainz
  • Fabio Wolkenstein – Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Vienna
  • Daniel Ziblatt – Director, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies & Eaton Professor of the Science of Government, Harvard University; Unit Director, Transformations of Democracy, WZB Berlin Social Science Center
Panel 3 | Limits on Majorities to Assure a Role for Expertise Conference | Balancing Majority and Minority Rights – The Dilemma of Majority-Constraining Institutions in an Age of Democratic Backsliding
Conference — Panel 3 | Limits on Majorities to Assure a Role for Expertise
February 28, 2025
2:00pm - 3:30pm
  • Andrew O'Donohue – Ph.D. Student in Government, Harvard University; Graduate Student Affiliate, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University; Arleen Carlson and Edna Nelson Graduate Fellow, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University (2025-2026)
  • Sir Paul Tucker – Senior Fellow, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University; Research Fellow, Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government, Harvard Kennedy School; Deputy Governor, The Bank of England (2009-2013)
  • Michael Zürn – Director of the Global Governance Research Unit, WZB Berlin Social Science Center; Professor of International Relations, Freie Universität Berlin
Panel 2 | Limits on Democracy to Protect Individual and Minority Rights Conference | Balancing Majority and Minority Rights – The Dilemma of Majority-Constraining Institutions in an Age of Democratic Backsliding
Conference — Panel 2 | Limits on Democracy to Protect Individual and Minority Rights
February 28, 2025
11:30am - 1:00pm
  • Gretchen Helmke – Thomas H. Jackson Distinguished University Professor, and Faculty Director of the Democracy Center, University of Rochester
  • Rahel Freiburghaus – Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Bern
  • Philip Manow – Professor of International Political Economy, University of Siegen
Welcome & Panel 1 | Frameworks for Analysis: Conceptualizing Constraints on Majorities Conference | Balancing Majority and Minority Rights – The Dilemma of Majority-Constraining Institutions in an Age of Democratic Backsliding
Conference — Welcome & Panel 1 | Frameworks for Analysis: Conceptualizing Constraints on Majorities
February 28, 2025
9:15am - 11:00am
  • Christoph Möllers – Professor of Public Law and Jurisprudence, Faculty of Law, Humboldt-University Berlin; Permanent Fellow, The Institute for Advanced Study Berlin
  • Melissa Schwartzberg – Silver Professor of Politics, New York University
  • Daniel Ziblatt – Director, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies & Eaton Professor of the Science of Government, Harvard University; Unit Director, Transformations of Democracy, WZB Berlin Social Science Center
  • Michael Zürn – Director of the Global Governance Research Unit, WZB Berlin Social Science Center; Professor of International Relations, Freie Universität Berlin
A History of How Popular Governance Has Adapted to Scale Seminar on European Development in a Historical Perspective — A History of How Popular Governance Has Adapted to Scale
February 24, 2025
3:00pm - 5:00pm
  • David Stasavage – Carroll and Milton Petrie Professor, Department of Politics, New York University
  • Chair Volha Charnysh – Ford Career Development Associate Professor of Political Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Local Affiliate & Seminar Chair, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
Against Haste: On the Heuristic Affordances of ‘Fascism’ Questions of Fascism and Democracy Lecture Series — Against Haste: On the Heuristic Affordances of ‘Fascism’
February 6, 2025
4:00pm - 6:00pm
  • Federico Marcon – Professor of East Asian Studies and History; Chair of the East Asian Studies Department, Princeton University
  • Chair Peter E. Gordon – Amabel B. James Professor of History, Harvard University; Resident Faculty & Seminar Chair, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University; Faculty Affiliate, Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures; Department of Government; and Department of Philosophy, Harvard University
American Swastikas and German Klansmen: Transatlantic White Supremacy from the 1970s to Charlottesville Questions of Fascism and Democracy Lecture Series — American Swastikas and German Klansmen: Transatlantic White Supremacy from the 1970s to Charlottesville
January 28, 2025
4:00pm - 6:00pm
  • Michelle Lynn Kahn – Associate Professor of Modern European History, University of Richmond
  • Chair Peter E. Gordon – Amabel B. James Professor of History, Harvard University; Resident Faculty & Seminar Chair, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University; Faculty Affiliate, Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures; Department of Government; and Department of Philosophy, Harvard University
  • Introduction by David Spreen – Assistant Professor of History, Harvard University; Resident Faculty and Seminar Chair, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University; Faculty Associate, Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University
The Pitfalls of Militant Democracy: The (Problematic) Case of Germany The Democracy and Its Critics Initiative & John F. Kennedy Memorial Fellowship — The Pitfalls of Militant Democracy: The (Problematic) Case of Germany
November 14, 2024
12:00pm - 1:15pm
  • Wolfgang Merkel – Director of the Research Unit Democracy and Democratization (2004 - 2020), Berlin Social Science Center (WZB); John F. Kennedy Memorial Policy Fellow 2024-2025, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
  • Chair Daniel Ziblatt – Director, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies & Eaton Professor of the Science of Government, Harvard University; Unit Director, Transformations of Democracy, WZB Berlin Social Science Center
35 Years After the Fall of the Wall – The Values of 1989 and Today's Democratic Challenges Democracy and its Critics Initiative & John F. Kennedy Memorial Fellowship — 35 Years After the Fall of the Wall – The Values of 1989 and Today's Democratic Challenges
November 12, 2024
4:00pm - 5:30pm
  • Axel Klausmeier – Director, Berlin Wall Foundation and Museum; John F. Kennedy Memorial Policy Fellow, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
  • Chair and Discussant Mary Elise Sarotte – Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis Distinguished Professor of Historical Studies, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS); Ernest May Visiting Fellow, Applied History Project, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School; Local Affiliate, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
  • Welcome Remarks by Dailan Xu – Undergraduate Student, Class of 2027, Harvard College
The Organization of Historical States Seminar on European Development in a Historical Perspective — The Organization of Historical States
November 4, 2024
3:00pm - 5:00pm
  • Charles Angelucci – Class of 1957 Career Development Professor and Assistant Professor of Applied Economics, MIT Sloan School of Management
  • Lydia Assouad – Academy Scholar at the Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies; Assistant Professor of Economics, Department of International Development, London School of Economics
  • Chair and Discussant Matthias Weigand – Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Economics, Harvard University; Graduate Student Affiliate & Seminar Chair, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
The Wannabe Fascists – A Conversation with Federico Finchelstein Questions of Fascism and Democracy Lecture Series & The Democracy and Its Critics Initiative — The Wannabe Fascists – A Conversation with Federico Finchelstein
October 21, 2024
4:00pm - 5:30pm
  • Federico Finchelstein – Professor of History & Chair of History, New School for Social Research
  • Chair Peter E. Gordon – Amabel B. James Professor of History, Harvard University; Resident Faculty & Seminar Chair, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University; Faculty Affiliate, Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures; Department of Government; and Department of Philosophy, Harvard University
Defending Democracy and Safeguarding Our Planet: A Dual Imperative The Democracy and Its Critics Initiative & The Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability — Defending Democracy and Safeguarding Our Planet: A Dual Imperative
September 24, 2024
4:00pm - 5:15pm
  • Luisa Neubauer – Youth Climate Justice Activist and Lead Organizer, Fridays for Future Germany; Visiting Research Scholar, Center for German and European Studies, Brandeis University; John F. Kennedy Memorial Policy Fellow (Fall 2024), Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
  • Chair George Sarrinikolaou – Executive Director, Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability & Assistant Provost for Climate and Sustainability, Harvard University
  • Welcome Remarks by Elaine Papoulias – Executive Director, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
China and the West – Two Paths to the Twentieth Century Seminar on European Development in a Historical Perspective — China and the West – Two Paths to the Twentieth Century
September 23, 2024
3:00pm - 5:00pm
  • Joel Mokyr – Robert H. Strotz Professor of Arts and Sciences & Professor of Economics and History, Northwestern University
  • Moderated by Yuhua Wang – Professor of Government, Harvard University; Seminar Chair, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
More Bark than Bite? The Far Right and Foreign Policy in Europe European Union Seminar & The Democracy and Its Critics Initiative — More Bark than Bite? The Far Right and Foreign Policy in Europe
September 20, 2024
10:00am - 11:15am
  • Andrew Moravcsik – Professor of Politics and International Affairs & Director of the Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination and the European Union Program, Princeton University
  • Daniel Ziblatt – Director, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies & Eaton Professor of the Science of Government, Harvard University; Unit Director, Transformations of Democracy, WZB Berlin Social Science Center
  • Moderated by Karl Kaiser – Fellow, Project on Europe and the Transatlantic Relationship, Harvard Kennedy School; Local Affiliate & Seminar Chair, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
  • Chair Kaija Schilde – Associate Dean of Studies; Jean Monnet Chair in European Security and Defense; Associate Professor of International Relations, Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, Boston University; Seminar Chair, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University and Christoph Mikulaschek – Assistant Professor of Government, Harvard University; Faculty Associate & Seminar Chair, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
Liberalism from One Generation to the Next: The Politics of Hope in an Age of Fear Václav Havel Lecture on Human Rights, Civil Society and Democracy & The Democracy and Its Critics Initiative — Liberalism from One Generation to the Next: The Politics of Hope in an Age of Fear
September 19, 2024
5:15pm - 6:30pm
  • Michael Ignatieff – Professor of History and Rector Emeritus, Central European University; Senior Fellow, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
  • Chair Daniel Ziblatt – Director, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies & Eaton Professor of the Science of Government, Harvard University; Unit Director, Transformations of Democracy, WZB Berlin Social Science Center
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