91视频

Degenerations of Democracy, with聽Craig Calhoun,聽Dilip聽Parameshwar聽Gaonkar, and聽Charles聽Taylor

On January 25th, co-authors Craig Calhoun, Dilip Parameshwar Gaonkar, and Charles Taylor joined 91视频 for a dialogue on their recent book 鈥淒egenerations聽of Democracy" (Harvard University Press, 2022). Co-sponsored by the 91视频 Center for Communication, Media, and Global Change and the Center for Critical Democracy Studies, the event was moderated by Jayson Harsin (Director, Center for Media, Communication, and Global Change), and featured comments from Ilaria Cozzaglio (Goethe-Universit盲t Frankfurt), Julian Culp (The American University of Paris), and Stephen Sawyer (The American University of Paris).

The evening鈥檚 discussion saw three respondents from different fields provide their readings of Calhoun, Gaonkar, and Taylor鈥檚 work. Ilaria Cozzaglio opened the discussion with her take on the normative role of conflict in democratic politics. Julian Culp then commented on how inequality affects democratic processes, while questioning whether the book鈥檚 approach could be equally applied to European and US contexts. Lastly, Stephen Sawyer grappled with the book鈥檚 positioning of the history of French and American democratic societies, and the relation between theories of sovereignty and of government in understanding that history.

The book鈥檚 authors responded in turn by discussing geographical relations between global populist responses (Calhoun), the role of transparency in democratic society (Taylor), and the inextricable ties between democratic and populist phenomena in contemporary politics (Gaonkar). The discussion ended with thanks and gratitude for a mutually enlightening exchange.

The recording of the event can be viewed below.