Celebrating liberal democracy and asking hard questions about its future
About the event
In June 2022, ahead of Professor John Morijn's inaugural lecture at the University of Groningen, we organised a full-day student conference to go deeper into the theory, the politics, and the lived reality of protecting liberal democracy in Europe.
The questions we put on the table were deliberately uncomfortable: Why do people vote for illiberal politicians? What does judicial solidarity across borders actually look like? What is the specific role of young people and of women in this fight? Around 200 students and professionals came to find out.
The programme
Five panels, three rooms, one day. The conversations covered:
Why do people vote for illiberals and what does it take for them to stop — Kim Lane Scheppele, Adam Bodnar, Wojciech Sadurski, Jakub Jaraczewski, Akudo McGee. Moderated by Jan Wouters.
Stories from the ground: women on the frontlines — Radosveta Vassileva, Sophie in 't Veld, Márta Pardavi, Petra Bárd, and Léonie de Jonge. Moderated by Evin Dalkilic.
Judicial independence and judicial solidarity across borders — Laurent Pech, Tamara Trotman, Tomasz Posłuszny. Moderated by Elena Kukovica.
Passing the torch to the next generation: rule of law for Boomers, Millennials and Gen Z — Kim Lane Scheppele, Adam Bodnar, Tomasz Posłuszny, Akudo McGee. Moderated by Yasmine Bouzoraa.
Towards complementarity: uniting the efforts of NGOs, academia and politics — Laurent Pech, Sophie in 't Veld, Marta Pardavi, Jakub Jaraczewski. Moderated by Jan Wouters.
