Upcoming guest lecture: Associate Professor Vincent Keating

We are pleased to welcome Associate Professor Vincent Keating from the University of Southern Denmark to give a lecture titled “Russian influence and soft power in the West”.

Vincent Keating is Head of Section and Associate Professor at the Department of Political Science and Public Management, University of Southern Denmark. He holds a PhD in International Relations at Aberystwyth University and has published widely on various central issues of international politics, including articles in Review of International Studies and The British Journal of Politics and International Relations and the monograph US Human Rights Conduct and International Legitimacy: The Constrained Hegemony of George W. Bush (Palgrave Macmillan 2014). In this lecture, Dr Keating’s point of departure is that Russia’s conservative values and illiberal governance models generate admiration and followership not only in the neighbouring countries but also in the Western world.

Time and place: 12th December 10-12, Publicum building, 1st floor, PUB3 lecture hall.

Welcome!

Upcoming FinDem seminar: Ernesto Cruz Ruiz

We are pleased to welcome Ernesto Cruz Ruiz from Technische Universität München to give his presentation at the research seminar at University of Turku.

Ernesto Cruz Ramirez will be giving a presentation titled “Inclusive, Deliberative, and Informed Constitution-making: The Endurance of Citizens’ Inputs in the Constitution of Mexico City.”

Time and place: November 7th, 14.15, Publicum, second floor. sh. 299

Welcome!

Upcoming lectures on deliberative democracy

The Institute for Deliberative Democracy (DDI) and PALO project (Participation in Long-term Decision-making) organize an annual Research and Development Day in Turku in October 31.

The day consists of two keynote lectures and workshops. The keynotes are open to all.

Keynote 1: Carolyn Hendriks (Australian National University): Participating Publics in Environmental Governance.
Time and place: 10.00, Educarium building, EDU1 lecture hall

Keynote 2: Stephen Elstub (Newcastle University): Mini-publics and Environmental Decision-Making in the UK.
Time and place: 14.45, Publicum building, PUB3 lecture hall

More information concerning the event and instructions on how to register to workshops can be found here:
http://paloresearch.fi/events/tutkimus-ja-kehittamispaiva-osallistuminen-ymparistopaatoksenteossa-31-10-2019/

Upcoming guest lecture in Political Science: Professor James S. Fishkin

We are pleased to welcome Professor James S. Fishkin from Stanford University to give a lecture titled ‘Revitalizing Democracy through Public Deliberation‘. James S. Fishkin holds the Janet M. Peck Chair in International Communication at Stanford University where he is Professor of Communication and Professor of Political Science. He is also Director of Stanford’s Center for Deliberative Democracy. Professor Fishkin is a member of the International Advisory Board of FutuDem.

Time and place: 15th March, 10.00-12.00, Stora Auditoriet, ASA (Fänriksgatan 3, Åbo)

Introduction by Professor Kimmo Grönlund (Åbo Akademi)
Comments by Professor Maija Setälä (University of Turku)

The guest lecture is organized by the Center of Excellence: the Future of Democracy FutuDem and the Minority Research Profile of Åbo Akademi

The lecture will be livestreamed on Zoom and Facebook

Upcoming public defense of doctoral dissertation

The public defense of VTM Maija Jäske’s Ph.D. dissertation ‘Democratic Innovations in Finnish Local Politics: Essays on the Varieties, Causes and Consequences of Mechanisms for Direct Citizen Participation’ is held at the University of Turku on January 11, 2019. The event is in English.

Opponent: Professor André Bächtiger (University of Stuttgart)
Custos: Professor Maija Setälä (University of Turku)

Time and place:
January 11, 2019, 12.00, Publicum, lecture hall Pub 3, Assistentinkatu 7, Turku.

Welcome!

III deliberative democracy summer school, 27–29 June 2018 Turku Finland

Finnish Centre for Democracy Research at the University of Turku and Åbo Akademi University is hosting the third deliberative democracy summer school in Turku, 27–29 June 2018. The summer school is held in collaboration with the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance at the University of Canberra. The three day summer school focuses on implementation of citizen deliberation as a democratic practice in relation to representative and direct democracy. The full program can be found here: http://findem.fi/summer-school/.

Keynote speakers include

27 June 9:30–11:00 am
David Farrell, University College Dublin
“The Irish experience of mixing representative and deliberative democracy”

28 June 9:30–11:00 am
John Gastil, Penn State University
“How to make direct democracy more deliberative”

29 June 10.00–11:30 am
John Dryzek, University of Canberra
“Directions in deliberative theory and practice”

All keynote lectures are open to the public. No registration required.

Call for papers: The third deliberative democracy summer school

Finnish Centre for Democracy Research at the University of Turku and Åbo Akademi University has the pleasure to announce the third deliberative democracy summer school and invites postgraduate students and early career researchers to take part.

Please fill in the application form to apply: www.bit.ly/turkusummerschool. Deadline for applications is March 9. Applicants will be informed about the decisions regarding successful applications on March 23 at the latest.

More information can be found here.

Upcoming public defense of doctoral dissertation

The public defense of VTM Juha Ylisalo’s Ph.D. dissertation ‘Herders in the Budgetary Commons: The Fiscal Policy Consequences of Multiparty Government in the European Union’ is held at the University of Turku on December 16, 2017. The event is in Finnish.

Opponent: Professor Mikko Mattila (University of Helsinki)
Custos: Professor Maija Setälä (University of Turku)

Time and place:
December 16, 12.00, Publicum, lecture hall Pub 3, Assistentinkatu 7, Turku.

Welcome!

Upcoming FinDem seminar: Dr. Nicole Curato

We are pleased to welcome Dr. Nicole Curato from the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance, University of Canberra, to give a presentation titled ‘Beyond Demagogues and Deplorables: The Space for Deliberative Reason in Populist Rhetoric’.

Time and place: 15th September, 14.00, Publicum, 2nd floor, room sh. 299.

Abstract:

There are many reasons to think of populism as the opposite of deliberation. Populism appeals to base instincts, sacrificing intellectual rigour and slow thinking in favour of quick solutions. Its polarising speech style creates information silos which bond rather than bridge opposing views. Inherent to the populist logic is the division of the ‘virtuous people’ versus the ‘dangerous other,’ which inflames prejudices and misinformation instead of promoting public reasoning as ways of determining the common good.

In this presentation, Curato challenges the populism-deliberation dichotomy by offering methodological and empirical interventions. Methodologically, she proposes to shift the gaze from the populist leader to the populist publics, as well as their mediated relationship. This, Curato argues, provides a more complex understanding of the relational and negotiated character of populist claims, instead of depicting them as top-down, manipulative, and homogenously spiteful rhetoric.

Empirically, Curato argues that ethnographic research on populist publics open a discussion on possible spaces for the democratisation of populist claims. She offers three conjectures. First, there is potential for discursive pluralism in populism. Second, populism can give voice to unspeakable grievances and render deliberative politics more inclusive. Third, populism forces a rethinking of deliberative claim-making, particularly its focus on voice and text, by foregrounding the roles of passion, presence and visceral forms of communication.

These conjectures are based on research findings from her ethnographic research in the Philippines and a review of ethnographic research of populist movements around the world.

Nicole Curato is an Australian Research Council Research Fellow at the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance, University of Canberra. Her work on deliberative democracy has been published in journals including Policy Sciences, International Political Science Review, and Acta Politica, among others. She is the editor of The Duterte Reader (2017, Cornell University Press), the first book about the return of the strongman in Philippine politics.

Welcome!

Upcoming FinDem seminar: Dr. Heino Nyyssönen

This week, we are pleased to welcome Dr. Heino Nyyssönen from the University of Turku to give a presentation concerning the release of his new book “Tasavallan loppu? Unkarin demokratian romahdus” at the political science research seminar at University of Turku. The book describes what went wrong in the democratization process in Hungary, why the anti-EU sentiments have been on the rise and what these recent developments mean in the context of the whole of Europe after Brexit.

Heino Nyyssönen is a political scientist and a historian, who works as a university lecturer in the Department of philosophy, contemporary history and political sciences. He has been surveying political developments in Hungary for over a quarter of a century.

Time and place: June 2nd, 14.15, Publicum, 2nd floor, sh. 299.

Welcome!