Monday, May 19, 2025
1:30 p.m. - 6:10 p.m. (GMT+01:00) Vienna
Location: Online and in-person at Central European University, Vienna, Austria
Liberal democratic institutions and values face significant challenges today. Political polarization, declining trust, the erosion of fundamental democratic norms, and the rise of strongman leaders have weakened the post-war consensus. The increasing focus of electoral competition and media discourse on cultural issues has intensified political conflicts and constrained rational deliberation.
To better understand these developments and the appeal of illiberal alternatives, this conference will highlight recent scholarship on democracy and autocratization. Presentations will examine trends in democratic quality, explore recent developments in gender politics, and analyze how religious identities intersect with modern nationalism and nativism. Speakers will give special attention to the spread of populist governance and the role of culture wars in democratic backsliding.
This conference is co-organized by the Department of Political Science at Central European University and the Georgetown University Global Economic Challenges Network.
Schedule
1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. CET | “Illiberal Elites and the Erosion of Democracy and the Rule of Law” by Michael Coppedge, Professor, University of Notre Dame
1:30 p.m. – 1:50 p.m. CET | Q&A with Michael Coppedge
1:50 p.m. – 2:10 p.m. CET | “Do We Have a Duty to Polarize?” by Andreas Schedler,
Senior Research Fellow, Central European University
2:10 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. CET | “Leader Charisma and Democratic Backsliding” by Marko Klasnja, Provost's Distinguished Associate Professor, Georgetown University
2:30 p.m. – 2:50 p.m. CET | Q&A with Andreas Schedler and Marko Klasnja
2:50 p.m. – 3:10 p.m. CET | Coffee Break
3:10 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. CET | “Christian Nationalism” by Paul D. Miller, Professor of the Practice, Georgetown University
3:30 p.m. – 3:50 p.m. CET | “Gendered Paths to De-democratization: The Illiberal Playbook” by Andrea Krizsan, Professor, Central European University
3:50 p.m. – 4:10 p.m. | “Types of Illiberalism: Elite and Mass Arguments against Liberal Democracy” by Zsolt Enyedi, Professor, Central European University
4:10 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. | Q&A with Paul D. Miller, Andrea Krizsan, and Zsolt Enyedi
4:30 p.m. – 4:50 p.m. | Coffee Break
4:50 p.m. – 5:10 p.m. | “The Impact of Populism on Democracy: Discourse or Organizational Strategy?” by Kirk Hawkins, Professor, Brigham Young University
5:10 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. | “The New Political Conservatism: The Closing Semantic Space between Populism, Nationalism, and Religion in Europe and North America” by Erin Jenne, Professor, Central European University
5:30 p.m. – 5:50 p.m. | “Detecting Democratic Decline: Political Leaders’ Public Speech as an Early Warning Signal” by Carsten Q. Schneider, Professor, Central European University
5:50 p.m. – 6:10 p.m. | Q&A with Kirk Hawkins, Erin Jenne, and Carsten Q. Schneider