Panel Discussion: Soft Authoritarianism in Geopolitical Complexities

#yisares #softauthoritarianism #autumnschool2022
Panelists: Evren Balta (Özyeğin University), Ranabir Samaddar (Calcutta Research Group), Renata Uitz (Central European University)

Chair: Shalini Randeria (Central European University & U Bremen Excellence Chair)
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In this public opening event of YISARES 2022 Autumn school four panelists will reflect on the effects of Russia’s war against Ukraine on soft authoritarian governments and tendencies. On the one hand, they will address geopolitical consequences: In which way has the war shifted the strategic position of countries such as Turkey, India, Poland and Hungary? What new geopolitical alignments and alliances between soft authoritarian and authoritarian governments can be observed? And which critical insights can we gain by scrutinizing the discursive opposition between authoritarianism and democracy fiercely enforced by some Western actors from a postcolonial perspective? On the other hand, the panelists will exemplarily examine the domestic consequences of these geopolitical shifts: How does the war affect soft authoritarian agendas in Hungary, India or Turkey? Do the intensified geopolitical tensions offer new opportunities to push forward rightwing policies, the militarization of public life or the promotion of hate speech in political discourse? Or might new alignments and risks on the international level in some cases rather slow down the authoritarian transformation?