On Thursday 28th June 2018, the OLF spoke with Ivan Krastev about the future of the EU, looking at the crisis of liberal democracy and the dynamics behind current political developments in Central and Eastern Europe.
About the debate:
This discussion focused on Ivan Krastev’s analysis of the current challenges facing Europe, as formulated in his most recent publication, After Europe (2017). In this book, Mr Krastev looks at the future of the European Union and contemplates a potential future without it, reflecting on the ominous political, economic, and geopolitical developments that could await us if the Union begins to disintegrate.
In conversation with Donatas Puslys & Aurimas Švedas, Ivan Krastev revisited the challenges looked at in 2017, addressing key questions such as: What is behind the move towards Central and Eastern European states rejecting the liberal democratic consensus reached after the collapse of communism? What role will this play for the future of both these states and European politics on the whole? How fragile are our democratic institutions? Which problems not only have the potential to imbalance life within the European community, but also to disrupt the EU? And, what awaits us after Europe?
To find out more, watch the full-length recording of the discussion, which can be found at the top of this page and reached by clicking here.
Participants:
Speaker:
Ivan Krastev - Chair, Centre for Liberal Strategies, Sofia & Permanent Fellow, IWM, Vienna
Ivan Krastev is the chairman of the Centre for Liberal Strategies, Sofia, and a permanent fellow at the IWM Institute of Human Sciences in Vienna. He is a founding board member of the European Council on Foreign Relations, a member of the advisory board of the ERSTE Foundation and a member of the global advisory board of the Open Society Institute. He is also an associate editor of Europe’s World and a member of the editorial boards of the journals, Journal of Democracy and Transit – Europäische Revue.
From 2004 to 2006, Ivan was the executive director of the International Commission on the Balkans, chaired by the former Italian Prime Minister Giuliano Amato. He also previously worked as the editor-in-chief of the Bulgarian edition of Foreign Policy and was a member of the Council of the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London from 2005-2011.
His latest books in English translation are In Mistrust We Trust: Can Democracy Survive When We Don’t Trust Our Leaders? (2013), Democracy Disrupted: The Politics of Global Protest (2014) and After Europe (2017).
Donatas Puslys – Political Scientist, Vilnius Institute for Policy Analysis & Editor-in-Chief, Bernardinai.lt
Chairs:
Donatas Puslys works as a political scientist at the Vilnius Institute for Policy Analysis and as the editor-in-chief of the online news portal, Bernardinai.lt.
In 2014, Donatas received the Sugihara Foundation's Person of Tolerance prize for his writing, in which he fights anti-semitism, xenophobia and other prejudices in Lithuania’s public sphere and media.
Donatas also works as a teacher and educator, providing lessons and workshops on tolerance, media literacy and historical memory.
Donatas has a master’s degree in political science and has been working in the media since 2006.
Aurimas Švedas - Associate Professor, Faculty of History, Vilnius University
Aurimas Švedas is an associate professor in Vilnius University’s Faculty of History. His research focuses on Lithuanian historiography, the politics of history, oral history and communicative and cultural memory.
Švedas has a number of publications to his name, including a book on Soviet Lithuanian historiography (In the Captivity of the Matrix: Soviet Lithuanian Historiography, 1944–1985, Aidai, 2009 – Lith. lang.; Rodopi, 2014, Eng. Lang.) and four books written while working on a long-term oral history research project (from 2007 to 2015). His most recent book on oral history, Life Should be Transparent: Irena Veisaitė (Aukso žuvys, 2016, Lith. Lang.), is devoted to the theatre critic and Jewish-Lithuanian public intellectual and Holocaust survivor, Irena Veisaitė.
Švedas is currently working on a research project devoted to the phenomenon of historical imagination in Lithuanian historical culture.
Rethinking Europe series:
In its Rethinking Europe series, the OLF will look to generate ideas about the future of Europe, disseminating analytical content to help formulate thinking on the potential ways in which Europe can progress.
Through these four discussions (see below) and its partnerships with the academic community and other key segments of Lithuanian society – in particular, young people -, the OLF will provide independent analysis of politics and sociocultural phenomena, discussing current affairs and prospects for the future of Europe with speakers from across the continent.
04/10/2018 Today’s challenges and the crisis in the European Union: how serious is this?
A public lecture and discussion with Professor Klaus Segbers, the director of the Centre for Global Politics and a professor for International Relations and East European Studies at the Freie Universität, Berlin
08/11/2018 Living in an overheated world
An open discussion with Professor Thomas Hylland Eriksen (University of Oslo).
22/11/2018 After eurocentrism and anthropocentrism: what sort of history do we need in the 21st century?
An open discussion with Professor Ewa Domanska (Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan & Stanford University) and Professor Alfredas Bumblauskas (Vilnius University)
About the OLF:
The Open Lithuania Foundation (reopened in 2017) is a non-profit, non-governmental organisation (NGO) which actively promotes open societies through joining forces and executing advocacy initiatives, visibility campaigns and joint projects as well as monitoring and training programmes.
In the fulfilment of its aims, the OLF performs many roles and is:
- a platform for academia and intellectuals to promote the culture of dialogue on domestic and international issues and policies;
- a gathering point for formal and informal networks and like-minded NGOs;
- a provider of support for local communities;
- and a centre of attraction and self-expression for young intellectuals.
You can find out more about the OLF by visiting their website, following them on Facebook and/or subscribing to their YouTube channel
TTT debate media:
A full recording of this particular debate can be found at the top of the page and can be accessed by clicking here.
You can also keep informed of media content from other TTT debates by following us on our social media and/or media platforms, where we post information on forthcoming events and publish all new recordings
Acknowledgements:
This OLF discussion took place in association with the EHU (European Humanities University) in Vilnius.
