The Possibility of Global Governance An ethics of care for our contemporary coexistence. Abstract The Possibility of Global Governance is a reflective exercise in the applied philosophy of ethics, and to some extent also in the poetics of ethics. My aim is to present a normative ethics idea open for reflection and discussion, namely that […]
Children as Climate Citizens – Presentism with Long-Term Interests Abstract: Based on her book, Kata Dozsa presents the concept of “children as climate citizens” across three key avenues of participation: climate governance, grassroots youth social movements, and climate litigation. Presentism is a defining feature of children’s climate citizenship: children living today are directly and disproportionately affected by climate change, with immediate […]
Challenges of human-centric journalistic innovation in the era of artificial intelligence Abstract While generative AI promises efficiency gains in newsgathering, production, verification, and audience engagement, it also raises significant concerns regarding accuracy, bias,transparency, and professional autonomy. Drawing on a review of public service media AI initiatives and expert insights from Europe and Canada, as well […]
Foes or Fellow Citizens? Perception of Democratic Legitimacy and Political Polarization Bio Rebekka Kesberg is a senior researcher at the University of Sussex (United Kingdom) and the University of Amsterdam (The Netherlands). She completed her PhD in social psychology at Ulm University (Germany), where she studied how human values shape perception, attitudes, and behavior. Following her PhD, she […]
Why AI Technosolutionism Harms Democracy and Deliberation Abstract Technology has recently entered the scene of deliberative democracy, both as a subject of deliberation and as a way to improve deliberative processes. The hegemonic position in this debate within the deliberative democracy community appears to be that, while it is not a bulletproof solution, technology—and more […]
This Seminar is part of our regular Thursday seminar series, which normally take place at Lunchtime on Thursdays. This seminar will, however, exceptionally take place on Thursday afternoon at 15:00 and instead of Lunch we will offer an aperitif afterwards. By registering via the link you will register for the entire Thursday seminar series and […]
Unpacking the Framing of Democracy in EU Institutional Discourses on Disinformation Mitigation Abstract How do European institutions frame democracy in their discourses and policies about disinformation mitigation? Disinformation is often presented by EU institutions as a threat to democracy that must be resolved (Navarro et al., 2025), which has led to the development of multiple intervention strategies. […]
Are parliaments at risk of becoming irrelevant? Abstract Parliaments have been conceptualised as a core institution of our representative democracies – they are meant to embody the link between public and governance. However, in a context of declining levels of trust, increased polarisation and misinformation, are they increasingly becoming irrelevant in people’s imaginary? Parliaments drive […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]