Lessons from the Protest Wave in Europe
with Ivan Krastev, Richard von Weizsäcker Fellow, Robert Bosch Academy
In the last few years millions of angry citizens - generally young, well-educated and mobilized through social media - have “occupied” different places in Egypt, Russia, Spain, Brazil, Turkey and Bulgaria, demanding not simply a change in government but a different way of governing. What is common between these vastly different protest movements is that they trust neither the business or the political elites, nor the government or the major opposition parties. They captured the public imagination without bringing to life neither a new ideology nor charismatic political leaders. What these protests would be remembered for are videos, not manifestoes; happenings, not speeches; conspiracy theories, not political tracts. These peaceful protests were inspiring, but politically ineffective. The workshop brings together around 20 experts, journalists and policy makers from Russia, Turkey, Bulgaria, Ukraine and Spain. The primary objective of the seminar is to make sense of their view of the nature, weaknesses and strength of the protest wave.
05.06.2014 – 06.06.2014
Registration for this event is closed.