Marc Z. on LinkedIn: Ofschloss vu Lëtzebuerg-Visitt: Aacht Austauschschüler aus den USA op… (2024)

✨ I really enjoyed presenting our book, Depleting Democracies: Radical right impact on parties, policies, and polities in Eastern Europe, at European-University Viadrina last week along with my PhD supervisor and co-author Michael Minkenberg, and Oliver Kossack, who discussed his own book, Pariahs or Partners? Patterns of Government Formation with Radical Right Parties in Central and Eastern Europe, 1990-2020.💡 In Depleting Democracies, we ultimately argue that not only do electorally strong radical right parties push mainstream parties to shift their positions to the right, their impact also shows up in the passing of restrictive legislation, e.g. in minority and asylum issues. Through this process, they challenge liberal principles of democracy, among others inclusiveness, and ultimately contribute to a process we refer to as the depletion of democracy.📖 If you are interested in an extensive study covering radical right impact in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia since 2000, check out our book: https://lnkd.in/ey-RVN3V💷 Thanks to Manchester University Press, with the code ➡ ODER30 ⬅ you can order it 30% off until August 31.❗ Don't miss out on Oliver's book either! It's open access via transcript Verlag: https://lnkd.in/eSmmWape🙏 Many thanks to Michaela Grün (EUV) for her kind summary of our launch: https://lnkd.in/ewEsXQEH

82

8 Comments

We are celebrating 75 years of the #constitution! 📖As part of the #buntstadt initiative, the Staff Council, the AStA and President Angela Ittel today invited members of the #TUBraunschweig to highlight the importance of our basic democratic values. "The events of the past months and years have repeatedly made it clear that democracy is of course a good worth protecting, but also one that needs to be protected. This makes it all the more important for us to mark the anniversary of the adoption of the constitution, the foundation of democracy and the rule of law," said Prof. Angela Ittel.Dr. Maurice Scheer and Dr. Britta Wittner from the Staff Council added: "Democratic principles also apply to working life. This includes the right of co-determination. [...] Of course, the Staff Council, which represents the interests of us employees, and the department, i.e. the university management, do not always see eye to eye. We often argue fiercely about issues, but we do so fairly, respectfully and at eye level within the framework of an objective and democratic discourse. Democracy is sometimes exhausting. But it is the only way to achieve a good balance of interests for both sides."The AStA was represented by Jakob Stahlhofen, advisor in the anti-fascism department: "We see a student body that is vigilant and actively positions itself against the right-wing. On 10 April, the student parliament unanimously decided that the AStA of the TU Braunschweig should join the Bündnis gegen Rechts. This was a clear signal from the student body that we want to join forces with other civil society groups to counter the rise of right-wing extremism. But we are not leaving it at signs, we are already active in anti-fascist activities. [...] All of us are and will remain responsible."📸 Kristina Rottig/TU Braunschweig

80

6 Comments

Yesterday evening at the The RSA (The royal society for arts, manufactures and commerce) Lord McFall of Alcluith, Lord Speaker of the House of Lords, gave an extremely interesting talk about how the House of Lords can be reformed. I was fortunate to get the very last question to Lord McFall from Andy Haldane, CEO of the #RSA. Before presenting my question to Lord McFall I however decided to turn towards a 'gentleman' in the audience who expressed his wish to see the House of Lords disappear altogether. Referring, at one point to support his argument, on the more 'democratic' French system including it's... Académie Francaise'- as if a third chamber. As the 'Académie Française' deals with the expansion of the French language and its dictionary, I pointed out that he meant the 'Institut de France' (where all five academies meet) and was hence ill-informed as the Institut de France has officially strictly nothing to do with politics (set aside occasional academic discussions).The fact is this gentleman, although speaking with authority in the name 'of British people' was clearly as ignorant of the role of French institutions than that of the House of Lords. Like many, he fails to understand that a second non-elected chamber balances the other elected one with its political agendas. The latter often guided by interests or school of thought which may not always be reasonable, to put it very mildly. This is why a House of Lords or a French Senate is necessary, in fact vital, as a safeguard.So the question is not to 'scrap' these institutions (the existence of the French Senate is equally questioned by similar people in France) and the dual legislative process, but proceed to see how they can be improved.Hence, my question to Lord McFall of what progress he had made in his, in my opinion, rightful project to see the Appointments Commission lift the current cap of non-party affiliated experts introduced in the House of Lords? Currently, a relatively small number every year. It would seem from his answer that he has not yet made progress on this, but he cited the names of many brilliant party-independent experts who are now peers, as a means to support his idea to have many more of the kind in the House of Lords. This, in my opinion, would be a welcome improvement. #parliament #houseoflords #PoliticalEducation#Expertise#PoliticalAwareness#DecisionMaking#LawMaking#PoliticalInsight#GovernmentAccountability#CitizenEngagement#PolicyImprovement#InformedCitizens

23

WERKSTATT AN DER GRENZE - TAG 2Yet another culturally and politically mixed day at the Radboud campus today! I kicked off my morning with a session with the professor who is supervising the paper that my group is writing for this summer school. Having chosen to compare the stances towards EU integration in the party programmes of the FDP, D66, Volt Germany and Volt Netherlands, there was much to discuss. From historical context to discourse analysis, there is enough to analyse. I’m excited to see what we’ll find!Next, we participated in an interactive workshop hosted by Wil Willemsen from the EP liaison office in The Hague. I have rarely seen or heard a more passionate speaker talk about the EU. Will visits schools to teach them about the EU and to motivate them to vote. We also discussed our own views and opinions of the EU; its problems and challenges, but also opportunities and strong points. I dared to ask the question what it means to be European, but unsurprisingly, the question remains impossible to answer. After lunch, we were treated with a lecture by Jacco Pekelder, named ‘Germany as a (difficult) neighbour: triangular perceptions and relations within Europe’. Obviously, the Netherlands and Germany need each other, economically and politically, but it can be difficult to establish purely positive cultural relations. They’re similar, and yet very different, and there’s varying histories at play. For the Dutchies amongst us: try to consider the Netherlands like Calimero, stating that “Zij zijn groot en ik ben klein. Het is níet eerlijk.” We also discussed the relations between The Netherlands, Germany, and France, based on geography, asymmetry, cultural closeness, perception of history, and relations vs. perceptions, which honestly seemed to be neverending, because there’s simply so much to discuss. The day ended in the sun, with a historical walk through Nijmegen. Despite having lived here for over 1.5 years, I can finally say that I know almost everything about Nijmegen ;). Just one more day tomorrow, I’m curious to see what it will bring!

1

During this week I am participating in the ISA Latin America & Caribbean 2023 event in Bogotá, Colombia! 🌎On Thursday I am presenting my research titled "Brazilian Cops Thinking Globally: How the Brazilian Federal Police became transnational policing diffusers?" on the panel "¿Como viajam as políticas de segurança?" (How do security policies travel?). https://lnkd.in/dATHdkdt

65

What Others Say... and Make me Think:Em vésperas da eleição do parlamento europeu, recordo duas frase de Jacques Delors retirada do site://On the eve of the European Parliament election, I remember two sentences by Jacques Delors taken from the website:https://lnkd.in/eYwuBSPh5. “How can we ever build Europe if young people do not see it as a collective project and a vision of their own future?”Address to the European Parliament, 17 January 1989.10. “Three common ambitions: to become an area of active peace, to maintain a framework for sustainable development and to celebrate in a particular way our cultural diversity.”La Grande Europe, Institut Jacques Delors, January 2003.

4

The POLIS Network aims at a closer cooperation of academics who work in the field of sport politics or who deal with political issues related to sport. After a 1st workshop in Cologne in 2017, followed by several meetings at EASS conferences, workshops in Papendal, Utrecht and Cologne, we want to pick up where we left off in 2020: Renew and deepen our discussions on polity, politics and policies in the field of sport. The workshop will offer the opportunity to present ongoing research, discuss new ideas about collaborative research and identify topics and agendas.https://wp.me/p2F2y5-fXt

1

🎉 𝐀 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲: 𝐂𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝟕𝟓 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 – 𝐭𝐡𝐞 “𝐆𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐳”!📜 For a remarkable 75 years, the Grundgesetz has guaranteed Germany’s constitutional freedom, democracy, and peace. In its rich and meaningful tradition, the challenges that the legal system has been facing over the decades are a reflection of our history. Some persist until today. In this context, the question arises how well this constitutional foundation has managed to stand the test of time.💼 To commemorate this special date, an esteemed panel of experts will come together to examine this fundamental question. Johannes Klausch, Partner at Luther Vietnam, will share his professional perspective on the role and significance of the German Constitution in modern times. 🔊 Joining the discussion with him are:Ms. Vo Ha My: Providing the GDR/East German perspective.Mr. Tobias Steier: History teacher at the International German School Ho Chi Minh City (IGS), offering a "Historian's" perspective on the genesis and importance of the Grundgesetz.A student from the IGS (9th grade): Representing the "young generation" and discussing necessary adaptations of the Grundgesetz to address current challenges.👉 Join us for a special celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Grundgesetz, hosted by the Consulate General of Germany in Ho Chi Minh City:📅 Date: May 23, 2024 (Thursday)⏰ Time: 6pm📍 Location: German House, Conference Area (Level 2)💬 Language of the event: German

24

In meinem Interview mit Euronews Serbia beleuchte ich die gegenwärtigen politischen Erfolge der Alternative für Deutschland, analysiere die Hürden eines Parteiverbotsverfahrens und diskutiere die Herausforderungen, die sich aus der rechtspopulistischen Strategie für konkrete Gegenmaßnahmen der wehrhaften Demokratie ergeben."It is important to understand the metapolitical strategy of the new right in Germany. It does not initially revolve around radical right-wing content, but focuses on offering a vector for frustration identification. The key is to create intersections with which non-politicized, libertarian and left-wing voters can be won over to the AfD. The first step is to create a specific construction of reality that resonates with many frustrated people. Only then does the gradual process of persuasion by right-wing positions begin. The counter-strategy of the democratic parties should not only address factual aspects, but above all address the affective level. The aim is to create new hope in liberal democracy, which must work above all through concrete perspectives for overcoming the problems of the transformation society.Simultaneously, it is crucial to enlighten individuals about the intricacies of the political system through active participation opportunities, aiming to dispel any vague sense of being deceived. Only through active engagement with the intricate processes within the political establishment can individuals emancipate themselves from the misleading claims inherent in the right-wing populist oversimplification of complexity."

8

The PIE News gives you a guide to Keir Starmer's new cabinet and how those in it could shape the future of international education in the UK.https://hubs.li/Q02GKmml0

1