Goethe-Institut Chicago | 18:00 Uhr (CT)

In einem Gespräch diskutieren die Thomas Mann Fellows Pola Lehmann und Johannes Gerschewski mit dem Politikwissenschaftler Jeffrey Winters den Wert des Kompromisses in demokratischen Gesellschaften.

*Diese Veranstaltung findet auf englischer Sprache statt*

Many democracies today are under pressure, both in countries with long established democracies, like the United States, as well as in new democracies, like Hungary and Poland. A very apparent symptom of these pressures is reflected in the way political debates are fought today. They become more and more heated and unforgiving, denying the other side to be a legitimate opponent in the debate. Discussions are being fueled by depicting the different sides as representing the right or the wrong answer, instead of presenting different but legitimate views to the issue at stake. What can keep societies together in these times and strengthen social cohesion? Solidarity can be one answer to this question.

Showing solidarity with another one’s cause can build ties between different groups in society. But solidarity is also very demanding, it requires not only to view the cause as legitimate but also as worthy. A less demanding solution is provided through political compromise. Compromise also requires to regard the other side as a legitimate representative, but one does not need to make a common cause out of it. The different sides can still disagree about the best solution to the given issue, but they respect each other views and act in the strong believe that striking a compromise between the different views, even though this means loss on both sides, is better than no compromise. But how can societies in such heated environments as we find them today create an atmosphere of mutual respect and legitimacy of the other side’s cause?

Attendance

Location:

Goethe-Institut Chicago
150 N Michigan Ave
Suite 420
Chicago IL 60601

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Participants

Johannes Gerschewski ist wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter am Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung und koordiniert die Arbeit des Theorienetzwerks am Exzellenzcluster „Contestations of the Liberal Script (SCRIPTS)“. Seine wissenschaftlichen Arbeiten wurden unter anderem im American Political Science Review, Perspectives on Politics, und Comparative Political Studies publiziert. Sein Buch zu The Two Logics of Autocratic Ruleerschien im April 2023 bei Cambridge University Press.

Pola Lehmann ist wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin am Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung und Co-Leiterin des Manifesto Projekts. Sie studierte Verwaltungswissenschaften an der Universität Potsdam und Kopenhagen. Ihre Forschungsschwerpunkte sind Demokratie und politische Repräsentation, politische Parteien und Wahlen sowie maschinelles Lernen. In ihrer Dissertation, die mit dem Leibniz Promotionspreis 2021 ausgezeichnet wurde, untersuchte sie politische Repräsentation und Kompromisse im Deutschen Bundestag.

Jeffrey Winters is Professor and Director of the Equality Development and Globalization Studies program (EDGS), and past chair of the Political Science Department at Northwestern University.  Prof. Winters specializes on oligarchs and elites and the role of wealth power and extreme economic inequality in a range of political systems.  His forthcoming book Domination through Democracy: Why Oligarchs Win will be published by Penguin Random House.  His earlier book, Oligarchy (Cambridge 2011), won APSA’s 2012 Gregory M. Luebbert Award for the Best Book in Comparative Politics.  Prof. Winters also studies human rights, authoritarianism, and democratic transitions in post-colonial states.  He has conducted extensive research in the region of Southeast Asia.