Conference and publishing project on the eve of the 20th anniversary of 1989
1989 and Beyond: The Future of Democracy
18/19 April 2008, New School for Social Research, New York City
The fall of the Berlin Wall and the conflict in Tiananmen Square -- the most telegenic events of the year 1989 – stimulated developments well beyond Central Europe, and unleashed the imagination that brought about the end of apartheid and the flowering of pro-democracy movements in Europe, Asia, Africa and America. As we approach the 20th Anniversary of 1989, we believe it is important not only to celebrate the collapse of communism and the achievements of other negotiated transitions, but to draw from them lessons for future democratic politics.
We are convinced that these non-violent, yet radical political changes contributed not only to major shifts of power, but also to a significant shift in thinking about the ways of ending dictatorships. This is why we plan to focus on two broad questions that -- we hope -- will generate new important insights: What did we learn from these revolutions? and at the same time, what did we miss, overlook , or – given the intervention in Iraq, for example -- What did we not learn from them? We believe that to ask these questions transcends regular academic exercise, as it is of importance for future democratization projects throughout the world.
Confirmed participants
- Andrew Arato, Professor of Political and Social Theory, New School for Social Research
- Chris Armbruster, Executive Director, Research Network 1989 and Max Planck Society, Berlin
- Richard Bernstein, Vera List Professor of Philosophy. New School for Social Research
- Thomas Bierschenk, Professor of Ethnology and African Studies, University of Mainz and Theodor Heuss Visiting Professor 2007-08, New School for Social Research
- Paul Blokker, Marie Curie Fellow, Department of Sociology, University of Sussex
- Andras Bozoki, Professor of Political Science, Central European University; and editor of the 8 volume documentation on the Hungarian roundtable talks of 1989
- Martin Butora, President, Institute for Public Affairs, Bratislava; Co-founder of Public Against Violence in 1989, former Slovak Ambassador to the United States
- Gerard Delanty, Professor of Sociology and Social & Political Thought, University of Sussex; Editor, European Journal of Social Theory
- Grzegorz Ekiert, Professor of Government and Senior Scholar at the Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies, Harvard University
- Barbara Falk, Department of Defence Studies, Canadian Forces College, Toronto
- Mateusz Halawa, PhD student in Sociology, New School of Social Research
- Florentina Harbo, PhD, Fellow, Norsk Institutt for Strategiske Studier, Oslo
- Janos Kis, Professor of Philosophy and Political Science, Central European University; Chairman of the Alliance of Free Democrats SzDSz in the transition period
- Radim Marada, Professor of Sociology, Masaryk University, Brno; Faculty Fellow, Center for Cultural Sociology, Yale University
- Elzbieta Matynia, Professor of Liberal Studies and Sociology and Director, Transregional Center for Democratic Studies, New School for Social Research
- Elidor Mehilli, PhD candidate in European History, Princeton University, New Jersey
- David Ost, Professor of Political Science at Hobart and William Smith Colleges
- Karolina Pietras, PhD student in History and Political Science, University of Paris IV – Sorbonne
- Alexandra Prodromidou, PhD student, European Research Institute, University of Birmingham
- Jonathan Schell, Harold Willens Peace Fellow, The Nation Institute
- Xiaoyang Tang, PhD student in Philosophy, New School of Social Research
- Sarah Taylor, PhD candidate in Political Science, New School of Social Research
- Jay Winter, Charles J. Stille Professor of History, Yale University
last modified: 2008-03-18
