Past Events

	Title	Date	Type	Speakers
	The EU Periphery and Revisionist Powers	Wed, 23.09.2020, 14:00	Seminars and Colloquia	Dimitar Bechev Ivan Vejvoda	The EU Periphery and Revisionist Powers Wed, 23.09.2020, 14:00 Speakers: Dimitar Bechev Ivan Vejvoda Series: Seminars and Colloquia Starting with the annexation of Crimea in the spring of 2014, scholars and analysts have been debating the standoff between the West and competitors such as Russia, Erdogan’s Turkey, and lately China on Europe’s periphery. “The return of geopolitics” has become a standard phrase to describe the new moment in the international politics of Eastern and Southeast Europe. A contrast is drawn with the 2000s, the highmark of the European Union’s “transformative power” and NATO’s eastward expansion. But the top-down view highlighting the preferences and actions of big players, including core EU member states like Germany and France, Russia, Turkey etc. overlooks the critical role played by peripheral countries and their elites. Rather than being the object of great powers’ decisions, they manipulate rivalries in pursuit of political advantage. Though the domestic arena provides entry points for external actors’ influence it also empowers incumbent elites in the target countries. The talk drew on examples from Southeast Europe (the Western Balkans, Bulgaria, Romania, Greece) but drew parallels to the post-Soviet space. Read more
The EU Periphery and Revisionist Powers Wed, 23.09.2020, 14:00 Speakers: Dimitar Bechev Ivan Vejvoda Series: Seminars and Colloquia Starting with the annexation of Crimea in the spring of 2014, scholars and analysts have been debating the standoff between the West and competitors such as Russia, Erdogan’s Turkey, and lately China on Europe’s periphery. “The return of geopolitics” has become a standard phrase to describe the new moment in the international politics of Eastern and Southeast Europe. A contrast is drawn with the 2000s, the highmark of the European Union’s “transformative power” and NATO’s eastward expansion. But the top-down view highlighting the preferences and actions of big players, including core EU member states like Germany and France, Russia, Turkey etc. overlooks the critical role played by peripheral countries and their elites. Rather than being the object of great powers’ decisions, they manipulate rivalries in pursuit of political advantage. Though the domestic arena provides entry points for external actors’ influence it also empowers incumbent elites in the target countries. The talk drew on examples from Southeast Europe (the Western Balkans, Bulgaria, Romania, Greece) but drew parallels to the post-Soviet space. Read more
	COVID-19 and Democracy: A New Mode of Governance?	Tue, 22.09.2020, 18:00	Lecture	Wolfgang Merkel	COVID-19 and Democracy: A New Mode of Governance? The German Case in Comparison Tue, 22.09.2020, 18:00 Speakers: Wolfgang Merkel Series: Lecture The Berlin Republic of today is neither Weimar (1918–1932) nor Bonn (1949–1990). It is by all standards the best democracy ever on German soil. Nevertheless, during the COVID-19 crisis there was a shift from democracy as a mode of governance to what the controversial legal theorist Carl Schmitt (1922) affirmingly described as a “state of exception”; a state that is desired and approved by the people. It was the hour of the executive. Parliament has disempowered itself. There was very little, if any, contestation or deliberation during the first eight weeks of the COVID-19 crisis – neither in parliament nor in civil society. Will the state of exception emerge as the new mode of governance during deep crises in the 21st century? If this is the case, it would erode, de-parliamentarize and illiberalize our democracies as we have hitherto known them. Read more
COVID-19 and Democracy: A New Mode of Governance? The German Case in Comparison Tue, 22.09.2020, 18:00 Speakers: Wolfgang Merkel Series: Lecture The Berlin Republic of today is neither Weimar (1918–1932) nor Bonn (1949–1990). It is by all standards the best democracy ever on German soil. Nevertheless, during the COVID-19 crisis there was a shift from democracy as a mode of governance to what the controversial legal theorist Carl Schmitt (1922) affirmingly described as a “state of exception”; a state that is desired and approved by the people. It was the hour of the executive. Parliament has disempowered itself. There was very little, if any, contestation or deliberation during the first eight weeks of the COVID-19 crisis – neither in parliament nor in civil society. Will the state of exception emerge as the new mode of governance during deep crises in the 21st century? If this is the case, it would erode, de-parliamentarize and illiberalize our democracies as we have hitherto known them. Read more
	Jean Améry Prize Awarded to Ivan Krastev	Thu, 17.09.2020, 19:30	Lecture	Ivan Krastev	Jean Améry Prize Awarded to Ivan Krastev Thu, 17.09.2020, 19:30 Speakers: Ivan Krastev Series: Lecture The Allianz Kulturstiftung and the Klett-Cotta publishing house awarded the prize, founded in memory of Jean Améry for important contemporary essays, to IWM Permanent Fellow Ivan Krastev on September 17, 2020. The jury, chaired by Robert Menasse, explained their decision by stating »The clarity of thinking against the appointments of the time: That is, among other things, what Ivan Krastev has in common with Jean Améry«. The prize is awarded every two years for outstanding achievements in the field of contemporary, progressive essays. The award winner talked to IWM Rector Shalini Randeria. Read more
Jean Améry Prize Awarded to Ivan Krastev Thu, 17.09.2020, 19:30 Speakers: Ivan Krastev Series: Lecture The Allianz Kulturstiftung and the Klett-Cotta publishing house awarded the prize, founded in memory of Jean Améry for important contemporary essays, to IWM Permanent Fellow Ivan Krastev on September 17, 2020. The jury, chaired by Robert Menasse, explained their decision by stating »The clarity of thinking against the appointments of the time: That is, among other things, what Ivan Krastev has in common with Jean Améry«. The prize is awarded every two years for outstanding achievements in the field of contemporary, progressive essays. The award winner talked to IWM Rector Shalini Randeria. Read more
	How to Be a Climate Change Journalist in Ukraine and Why Environmental Storytelling Can Help Spread Important Ideas	Mon, 14.09.2020, 16:00	Seminars and Colloquia	Ludger Hagedorn Mariana Verbovska	How to Be a Climate Change Journalist in Ukraine and Why Environmental Storytelling Can Help Spread Important Ideas Mon, 14.09.2020, 16:00 Speakers: Ludger Hagedorn Mariana Verbovska Series: Seminars and Colloquia Since Ukraine is an agrarian country, the importance of knowledge about climate change cannot be overestimated. In fact, today we already have regions where we harvest potatoes and corn twice a year, and regions where grapes and peaches ripen, which have not even been cultivated before. It is very important to talk not only about climate change as a global catastrophe, but also about the new challenges and opportunities that come with it. Read more
How to Be a Climate Change Journalist in Ukraine and Why Environmental Storytelling Can Help Spread Important Ideas Mon, 14.09.2020, 16:00 Speakers: Ludger Hagedorn Mariana Verbovska Series: Seminars and Colloquia Since Ukraine is an agrarian country, the importance of knowledge about climate change cannot be overestimated. In fact, today we already have regions where we harvest potatoes and corn twice a year, and regions where grapes and peaches ripen, which have not even been cultivated before. It is very important to talk not only about climate change as a global catastrophe, but also about the new challenges and opportunities that come with it. Read more
	ERC Mentoring Initiative September	Fri, 04.09.2020, 10:00 - Sat, 05.09.2020, 14:00	Conferences and Workshops	Ylva Huber	ERC Mentoring Initiative September Fri, 04.09.2020, 10:00 - Sat, 05.09.2020, 14:00 Speakers: Ylva Huber Series: Conferences and Workshops Read more

	A New World (Dis-)Order	Wed, 02.09.2020, 18:00	Panels and Discussions	Timothy SnyderLubomir Zaoralek, Dagmar Rychnovská	A New World (Dis-)Order Current Political and Social Challenges Wed, 02.09.2020, 18:00 Speakers: Timothy SnyderLubomir Zaoralek, Dagmar Rychnovská Series: Panels and Discussions The Czech Embassy in Vienna, in cooperation with the Institute for Human Sciences (IWM) generously supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, invited for an evening discussion at the Czech Embassy in Vienna. The debate addressed the growing geopolitical insecurity and the new challenges posed by the global pandemic. Read more
A New World (Dis-)Order Current Political and Social Challenges Wed, 02.09.2020, 18:00 Speakers: Timothy SnyderLubomir Zaoralek, Dagmar Rychnovská Series: Panels and Discussions The Czech Embassy in Vienna, in cooperation with the Institute for Human Sciences (IWM) generously supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, invited for an evening discussion at the Czech Embassy in Vienna. The debate addressed the growing geopolitical insecurity and the new challenges posed by the global pandemic. Read more
	Public Health & Migrant Workers	Fri, 21.08.2020, 14:30	Conferences and Workshops	Ayşe Çağlar Ranabir Samaddar Shalini Randeria	Public Health & Migrant Workers Research Symposium Fri, 21.08.2020, 14:30 Speakers: Ayşe Çağlar Ranabir Samaddar Shalini Randeria Series: Conferences and Workshops This symposium on migrants and public health was a platform to investigate and integrate some of the primary concerns arising from the state of public health in India, privatisation of the health care system, the skewed nature of governance in addressing public health concerns in our cities’ poor, overcrowded neighbourhoods, and the fact that workers leading the response against the pandemic are rendered disposable for fear of disease and contamination. How do these binaries coexist and become new sites of discrimination? Read more
Public Health & Migrant Workers Research Symposium Fri, 21.08.2020, 14:30 Speakers: Ayşe Çağlar Ranabir Samaddar Shalini Randeria Series: Conferences and Workshops This symposium on migrants and public health was a platform to investigate and integrate some of the primary concerns arising from the state of public health in India, privatisation of the health care system, the skewed nature of governance in addressing public health concerns in our cities’ poor, overcrowded neighbourhoods, and the fact that workers leading the response against the pandemic are rendered disposable for fear of disease and contamination. How do these binaries coexist and become new sites of discrimination? Read more
	The Sociology of Belarusian Protest	Thu, 20.08.2020, 17:00	Panels and Discussions	Nelly Bekus-GoncharovaElena Gapova, Aliaksei Lastouski, Alena Minchenia, Andrey Vozyanov, Mischa Gabowitsch	The Sociology of Belarusian Protest Thu, 20.08.2020, 17:00 Speakers: Nelly Bekus-GoncharovaElena Gapova, Aliaksei Lastouski, Alena Minchenia, Andrey Vozyanov, Mischa Gabowitsch Series: Panels and Discussions Belarusian voices are few and far between in international debates about the ongoing protests in Belarus. In this webinar, Belarusian sociologists shared their views and analysis of the current protest wave. Among other things, they discussed the role of striking workers; class, gender, and violence; patterns of mobilization and self-organization; the mobilizing effects of trauma; the impact of urban space; the legacy of previous protests; the role of protest in forging different types of communities; and the ways in which the post-industrial shift and other long-term transformations in Belarusian society have affected its political economy. This webinar took place in English. Read more
The Sociology of Belarusian Protest Thu, 20.08.2020, 17:00 Speakers: Nelly Bekus-GoncharovaElena Gapova, Aliaksei Lastouski, Alena Minchenia, Andrey Vozyanov, Mischa Gabowitsch Series: Panels and Discussions Belarusian voices are few and far between in international debates about the ongoing protests in Belarus. In this webinar, Belarusian sociologists shared their views and analysis of the current protest wave. Among other things, they discussed the role of striking workers; class, gender, and violence; patterns of mobilization and self-organization; the mobilizing effects of trauma; the impact of urban space; the legacy of previous protests; the role of protest in forging different types of communities; and the ways in which the post-industrial shift and other long-term transformations in Belarusian society have affected its political economy. This webinar took place in English. Read more
	Covid-19 and Holocaust Memory	Mon, 06.07.2020, 16:00	Seminars and Colloquia	Ludger Hagedorn Tobias Ebbrecht-Hartmann	Covid-19 and Holocaust Memory The Pandemic as Catalyst for Digital Commemorative Culture? Mon, 06.07.2020, 16:00 Speakers: Ludger Hagedorn Tobias Ebbrecht-Hartmann Series: Seminars and Colloquia The presentation reviewed some of the most recent digital commemorative projects by Holocaust memorials and museums in light of earlier expressions of digital commemorative culture, especially in relation to the privately initiated Instagram Stories project Eva.Stories that in 2019 became a driving force towards a new social media memory. Read more
Covid-19 and Holocaust Memory The Pandemic as Catalyst for Digital Commemorative Culture? Mon, 06.07.2020, 16:00 Speakers: Ludger Hagedorn Tobias Ebbrecht-Hartmann Series: Seminars and Colloquia The presentation reviewed some of the most recent digital commemorative projects by Holocaust memorials and museums in light of earlier expressions of digital commemorative culture, especially in relation to the privately initiated Instagram Stories project Eva.Stories that in 2019 became a driving force towards a new social media memory. Read more
	Religious Perspectives on Global Solidarity in the Era of Global Crises	Mon, 29.06.2020, 16:00	Seminars and Colloquia	Clemena Antonova Ludger Hagedorn	Religious Perspectives on Global Solidarity in the Era of Global Crises Mon, 29.06.2020, 16:00 Speakers: Clemena Antonova Ludger Hagedorn Series: Seminars and Colloquia All three global crises of recent times – the financial crisis of 2008, the refugee crisis, and now the coronavirus crisis – have been, among other things, tests of solidarity. But what is it that decides in a concrete situation, whether solidarity is extended to those in need or not? Especially interesting are those cases, when people feel forced to make difficult choices between solidarity to one group versus solidarity to another. The talk tried to distinguish between two concepts of solidarity, one that could be called civic solidarity (to one’s family, friends, compatriots, etc.) and another one offering a broader sense of global solidarity (to all human beings as such). Read more
Religious Perspectives on Global Solidarity in the Era of Global Crises Mon, 29.06.2020, 16:00 Speakers: Clemena Antonova Ludger Hagedorn Series: Seminars and Colloquia All three global crises of recent times – the financial crisis of 2008, the refugee crisis, and now the coronavirus crisis – have been, among other things, tests of solidarity. But what is it that decides in a concrete situation, whether solidarity is extended to those in need or not? Especially interesting are those cases, when people feel forced to make difficult choices between solidarity to one group versus solidarity to another. The talk tried to distinguish between two concepts of solidarity, one that could be called civic solidarity (to one’s family, friends, compatriots, etc.) and another one offering a broader sense of global solidarity (to all human beings as such). Read more