A spectre is haunting the world - the spectre of new authoritarianisms. From Brazil to Hungary, from Poland to the Philippines, from India to the United States, a new wave of authoritarian leaders, parties and movements has been undermining democracy from within and threatening its existence. Until quite recently, authoritarianism was a phenomenon identified with the South. Today, however, authoritarian ideologies, movements, and parties, and the threat they pose to democracy, are also very much a feature of politics in the West. The workshop aims to bring together interested graduate students and post-docs to explore this phenomenon from multiple disciplinary and methodological perspectives.

Date:  23 February 2022
Venue: Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva and Online
Suggested topics include:

• Authoritarianism and neoliberalism
• Authoritarianism and (post-)colonial wounds
• Authoritarianism and race/gender/sexuality
• Authoritarian inversion of reality and social media: “cultural wars”, “fake news” and science denialism, interactions between mainstream and social media
• Late modernity and its discontents:mobilization of social frustrations, anti-corruption discourses, etc.
• The “Authoritarian International” of the 21st century: transnational networks of authoritarian leaders, parties, and movements, mutual influence and learning

Proposals should not exceed 1000 characters (including spaces). Please list your affiliation and degree.

Please send your proposals to: democracy@graduateinstitute.ch

Deadline for submitting proposals: January 22, 2022

Workshop convened by the Albert Hirschman Centre on Democracy in collaboration with Prof. Ricardo Pagliuso Regatieri