ONLINE | DEMOCRACY AND THE PANDEMIC: A MINI-CONFERENCE OF THE DEMOCRACY SEMINAR – MAY 2020
PROGRAM
DAY 1 – WEDNESDAY, MAY 20
11AM – 2PM
How are the responses to the pandemic driving de-democratization?
11:00 – 11:15 AM – Introductions
11:15 – 12:00 PM – Session 1: How are the state responses to the pandemic strengthening authoritarian regimes?
Facilitator: Jeffrey C. Goldfarb
PARTICIPANTS:
- Daniel Peres, Bolsonaro’s Regime of Chaos and Fear: The Pandemic and the Collapse of Democracy in Brazil
- Jacek Kucharczyk, Pandemic as a Catalyst for Populist Authoritarianism: The Case of Poland
- Michal Vašečka, From Mafia State to “Parish” Republic
- Paweł Marczewski, Torn Mask of Social Solidarity: Law and Justice Response to the Economic Downturn
- Mark W. Frazier, Hong Kong in 2020: Pandemic, Protest and Great Power Rivalry
- András Bozóki, After Orwell: Some Thoughts on the Post-Pandemic World
12:00 – 12:15 PM – coffee break
12:15 – 1:00 PM – Session 2: How are the responses to the pandemic strengthening the centralization of power, and the municipal and community power that resists it?
Facilitator: Jacek Kucharczyk
PARTICIPANTS:
- Helena Chmielewska-Szlajfer, Authoritarian Appetites versus Local Solidarity
- Kristóf Szombati, COVID-19 and the Curtailment of Municipal Power in Hungary
- Utku Balaban, Urban Politics and Pandemic in Turkey
- Daniel Gerbery, Trust or Discipline? What Saturates Civic Responses to a COVID-19 Crisis in Slovakia?
- Nazan Bedirhanoglu, Turkey’s Forged Success Story: Re-opening Without Closing Down?
1:00 – 1:15 PM – coffee break
1:15 – 2:00 PM – Session 3: How are the responses to the pandemic strengthening authoritarian movements and institutions
Facilitator: Elzbieta Matynia
PARTICIPANTS:
- Alexandra Bitušíková, Fascists in Slovak Politics: Waiting for a New Chance in Times of the COVID-19 crisis?
- Gábor Scheiring, The Political Consequences of Populist Health Crisis Management: The Political Economy of Coronavirus Responses in Hungary
- Malkhaz Toria, The State of Emergency for All? Asymmetric Power Relations and Crisis of Democracy in Georgia during the Pandemic
- Ali Rıza Güngen, Turkey’s COVID-19 Response and Resilience of Authoritarianism
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DAY 2 – THURSDAY, MAY 21
11:00 AM – 2:30 PM
How is de-democratization constituted and opposed?
11:00 – 11:15 AM – Recap from Day 1
11:15 – 12:00 PM – Session 4: How do the pandemic and the authoritarian responses to it undermine human rights and gender justice?
Facilitator: Jeffrey C. Isaac
PARTICIPANTS:
- Kálmán Petőcz, Human Rights in the Times of Emergency
- Kerem Altiparmak, New Expertise of Authoritarian Regimes: How to Escape From Implementation of International Standards: The Cases of Demirtaş and Kavala
- Jan Orlovsky, NGO Sector in Slovakia as a Subject of Conspirators
- Maria Bucur, Domestic Violence as Pandemic
- Elżbieta Korolczuk, Gender Ideology as Pandemic: Anti-Gender Campaigns in a Time of Crisis
12:00 – 12:15 PM – coffee break
12:15 – 1:00 PM – Session 5: What are new ways to constitute, defend, and strengthen democracy during the pandemic?
Facilitator: Jeffrey C. Goldfarb
PARTICIPANTS:
- Chang Liu, Chinese Young Nationalists amid The COVID-19 Pandemic: A Rap against a “Diary”
- Pawel Knut, Another Plague – Old Challenges, New Responses: The Meaning of COVID-19 to Polish LGBT Movement
- Elçin Aktoprak, The School of Human Rights in Turkey: An Alternative Space under Authoritarianism
- Open discussion of this topic given the proceedings thus far.
1:00 – 1:15 PM – coffee break
1:15 – 2:00 PM – Session 6: How do we resist dictatorships with a democratic face during the pandemic?
Facilitator: Elzbieta Matynia
PARTICIPANTS:
- Jeffrey C. Isaac, On the Challenges of Securing the November Election in USA Politics
- Dagmar Kusá, Democracy “As If”
- Jeffrey C. Goldfarb, The Expressive Dimension of Politics, Donald Trump and His Opposition
- Samuel Marec, Trumpization of Political Communication during COVID-19 Crisis
2:00 – 2:30 PM – Wrap-up Session
