Bulgarian political scientist Ivan Krastev will give the fourth John McCloy Lecture at Goethe University’s Forschungskolleg Humanwissenschaften – an Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities.
Following the collapse of the socialist states in Eastern Europe and the end of the Cold War, American political scientist Francis Fukuyama declared the “end of history”, predicting that liberal democracy in its Western form would triumph globally and replace all other forms of government. Today we know that this prediction was incorrect. Authoritarian rulers are now in power in many countries, and democratic societies are facing internal disintegration. History is far from over – the future remains open.
In his lecture, titled “The Return of the Future and the Last Man: Politics of Demographic Imagination”, Bulgarian political scientist and publicist Ivan Krastev offers his analysis of the future of democracy. He asks why so many people worldwide are turning away from democracy and voting against it in elections: Where do these people come from? Why are they so distrustful? What are they afraid of? Krastev finds some of the answers in projections of demographic changes that profoundly affect politics and society.
Goethe University’s Forschungskolleg Humanwissenschaften – an Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities cordially invites the public to attend the fourth John McCloy Lecture:
Tuesday, April 1, at 6 p.m.
Forschungskolleg Humanwissenschaften, Am Wingertsberg 4, Bad Homburg
Introductory remarks will be given by Professor Johannes Völz, Americanist and co-spokesperson of the John McCloy Transatlantic Forum.
About Ivan Krastev
Ivan Krastev, born in 1965, is Chairman of the Centre for Liberal Strategies in Sofia and Albert Hirschman Permanent Fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna. His research on global democratic developments, informed by his deep knowledge of Eastern European perspectives, is aimed at academics, policymakers and the general public. He writes regularly for the Financial Times.
His most recent books, translated into German, include: “The Light That Failed. A Reckoning”, co-authored with Stephen Holmes (Das Licht, das erlosch. Eine Abrechnung, 2021); “Is It Tomorrow Yet? Paradoxes of the Pandemic” (Ist heute schon morgen? Wie die Pandemie Europa verändert, 2020); “After Europe” (Europadämmerung. Ein Essay, 2017).
In 2020, he was awarded the Jean Améry Prize for European Essay Writing and the Canadian Lionel Gelber Prize.
About the John McCloy Lectures
The John McCloy Lectures are organized by the John McCloy Transatlantic Forum at Goethe University’s Forschungskolleg Humanwissenschaften – an Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities in Bad Homburg. The lecture series invites distinguished figures from academia and society to present and debate their perspectives on current developments in transatlantic democracy in a public evening lecture. The first John McCloy Lecture (2022) was delivered by American political scientist and advisor Charles A. Kupchan, the second (2023) by former German Federal Minister Sigmar Gabriel, and the third (2024) by legal scholar and publicist Constanze Stelzenmüller. The forum collaborates closely with the interdisciplinary research initiative Democratic Vistas. Reflections on the Atlantic World, which is also located at the Forschungskolleg Humanwissenschaften. Both the forum and the research initiative are led by Goethe University professors Gunther Hellmann (Political Science) and Johannes Völz (American Studies).
Registration
We kindly ask for prior registration by March 30 via anmeldung@forschungskolleg-humanwissenschaften.de
Directions
Public transport:
The nearest stops are: Kaiser-Wilhelms-Bad (Bus 6); Bad Homburg Station (S-Bahn S5); Gonzenheim (U-Bahn U2)
By car:
Please use the nearby parking facilities:
Casino-Parkhaus, accessible via Weinbergsweg
Parking lot at the Tennis Club and Kur Royal Aktiv, Kisseleffstraße 20
Further Information →
