ONLINE | Democracy and the Pandemic: A Mini-Conference of the Democracy Seminar

Democracy Seminar and Transregional Center for Democratic Studies welcome you to the “Democracy and the Pandemic” conference. The conference was hosted online in May and featured prominent academics from around the world who discussed the implications of the pandemic for democracy and authoritarianism.

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:

1. Daniel Peres, Bolsonaro’s Regime of Chaos and Fear: The Pandemic and the Collapse of Democracy in Brazil
2. Jacek Kucharczyk, Pandemic as a Catalyst for Populist Authoritarianism: The Case of Poland 
3. Michal Vašečka, From Mafia State to “Parish” Republic
4. Paweł Marczewski, Torn Mask of Social Solidarity: Law and Justice Response to the Economic Downturn
5. Mark W. Frazier, Hong Kong in 2020: Pandemic, Protest and Great Power Rivalry 
6. 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:

1. Helena Chmielewska-Szlajfer,  Authoritarian Appetites versus Local Solidarity
2. Kristóf Szombati, COVID-19 and the Curtailment of Municipal Power in Hungary 
3. Utku Balaban, Urban Politics and Pandemic in Turkey
4. Daniel Gerbery, Trust or Discipline? What Saturates Civic Responses to a COVID-19 Crisis in Slovakia? 
5. 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:

1. Alexandra Bitušíková, Fascists in Slovak Politics: Waiting for a New Chance in Times of the COVID-19 crisis?
2. Gábor Scheiring, The Political Consequences of Populist Health Crisis Management:  The Political Economy of Coronavirus Responses in Hungary 
3. Malkhaz Toria, The State of Emergency for All? Asymmetric Power Relations and Crisis of Democracy in Georgia during the Pandemic 
4. 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:

1. Kálmán Petőcz,  Human Rights in the Times of Emergency
2. Kerem Altiparmak, New Expertise of Authoritarian Regimes: How to Escape From Implementation of International Standards: The Cases of Demirtaş and Kavala
3. Jan Orlovsky, NGO Sector in Slovakia as a Subject of Conspirators 
4. Maria Bucur, Domestic Violence as Pandemic
5. 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:

1. Chang Liu,  Chinese Young Nationalists amid The COVID-19 Pandemic: A Rap against a “Diary” 
2. Pawel Knut, Another Plague – Old Challenges, New Responses: The Meaning of COVID-19 to Polish LGBT Movement 
3. Elçin Aktoprak, The School of Human Rights in Turkey: An Alternative Space under Authoritarianism
4. 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:

1. Jeffrey C. Isaac, On the Challenges of Securing the November Election in USA Politics
2. Dagmar Kusá, Democracy “As If” 
3. Jeffrey C.  Goldfarb, The Expressive Dimension of Politics, Donald Trump and His Opposition
4. Samuel Marec, Trumpization of Political Communication during COVID-19 Crisis 

2:00 – 2:30 PM – Wrap-up Session