The unintended consequences of depolarization treatments (in the US) Abstract Many interventions exist for reducing toxic polarization. However, a possibility is that these interventions that aim to help political opponents get along have unintended side effects. For example, they may increase other forms of intolerance, reduce civic engagement, or reduce people’s willingness to confront prejudices or misinformation. We tested these possibilities […]
Register here The international norm of Gender-Sensitive Parliaments: Navigating Inequality and Inclusion in Democracies under Pressure Bio Petra Ahrens is Academy of Finland Research Fellow at Tampere University, Finland. Her research focuses on gender policies and politics in the European Union and its institutions, gender equality in Germany, gender-sensitive parliaments, and transnational civil society. Alongside […]
How to study platform influences on digital democracies Abstract Digital platforms do not merely host democratic debate — they structure visibility, shape information flows, and influence how political opinions are formed. To understand these effects, we need theory-driven and longitudinal approaches that trace communicative processes over time, combining digital trace data, sequence-based analyses, and innovative […]
Register here Informational Autocracies and State-Sponsored Disinformation - On the Possibilities and Limits of Institutionalized Brainwashing Abstract In today’s information landscape, the rise of “spin dictatorships” or informational autocracies shows how state actors, economic elites, and digital platforms cooperate to sustain mass persuasion. Instead of relying mainly on repression, these regimes manage information, engineer public […]
Register here Book launch of The Oxford Handbook of Belgian Politics, a new volume co-edited by Prof. Min Reuchamps (UCLouvain), Prof. Marleen Brans (KULeuven), Prof. Petra Meier, (Uantwerpen) and Prof. Emilie van Haute (ULB). The Book launch will bring together members of the diplomatic community, policymakers, media representatives, some of the 97 contributors to the volume, and […]
For the second year in a row, BrIAS partners with OHME to present five days of events at the intersection of arts and society, with a special emphasis on the BrIAS Season's theme: democratic challenges. The programme moves between afternoon conferences and evening presentations, film screenings and music, with an exhibition to discover throughout the […]
Important notice: The Forum and the Closing Ceremony have separate registration links. Click on the images for their respective registration links. The Brussels Institute for Advanced Studies (BrIAS) invites you to a forum on The Right to the City: making Brussels culture a space of freedom, inclusion and democratic resistance. About the Event English At […]
The Far-Right Success Story Abstract Across Europe and beyond, far-right parties are gaining ground. They challenge the political establishment, reshape public debate, and appeal to voters from different social and economic backgrounds. What explains their success? Why do their messages resonate with so many people? And what does their rise mean for the future of […]
Democratic Innovations Beyond Established Democracies: Challenges and Developments in Europe Democratic innovations, especially the direct and deliberative practices, gained momentum around the world in the last three decades. They slowly moved from experiments or isolated instances to routine tools in national and subnational governance. Their causes, functioning and consequences have received extensive attention in established […]
Lies, Damned Lies, and Politics: How Citizens Make Sense of Political Deception and What it Means for Democracy Abstract Politicians across the world are routinely accused of lying. But what do citizens actually understand by political lying, and does it matter for how they feel about democracy? This lecture presents findings from the DEMO-LIES project on the citizen side […]
Book Talk “Under Authoritarian Eyes: Feminist Solidarity and Resistance in Russia and Serbia” Abstract Leandra will present and discuss her recent book “Under Authoritarian Eyes”. Theories of transnational feminism often frame feminist knowledge as a project of Western hegemony to move ideas unilaterally from the "emancipated" West to other parts of the world. How does this framework […]
Register here Organising resistance in Science or: how present politics work to prefigure the collapse of western civilization Abstract Oreskes - historian of (climate and environmental) science - speculated in a 2014 essay (with Erik Conway) (“The collapse of western civilization. A view from Future” Columbia University Press) how scientists in the far future (in 2393) could […]