We are pleased to welcome Post Doctoral Fellow Dr. Lauri Rapeli from Åbo Akademi University to give his presentation at the General research seminar for political scientists at Åbo Akademi University.

Dr. Rapeli will be presenting the Participation in Long-Term Decision-Making (PALO) consortium project which addresses the problem of ‘short-termism’ in public decision-making and governance.

Time and place: October 23rd, 3-4pm, ASA House, A stairs, 4th floor and room A 402 (Demos)

Welcome!

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!

We are pleased to welcome Dr. Peter Söderlund from Åbo Akademi University in Vaasa to give his presentation at the General research seminar for political scientists at Åbo Akademi University. The topic of the presentation will be revealed on a later date.

Time and place: April 19th, 2pm, ASA House, A stairs, 4th floor and room A 402 (Demos)

Welcome!

The Centre for East Asian Studies (CEAS) is pleased to announce four guest lectures  about South Korea’s political changes. The lectures are presented by Professor Won-Taek Kang of Seoul National University and Professor Hannes Mosler from Freie Univesität Berlin.

Professor Won-Taek Kang: 30 years of a new democracy: South Korea’s democratic consolidation.

Time and place: 30.3.2017 15.00, Publicum SH126.

Professor Won-Taek Kang: Generation, protests, and Park Chung Hee: Recent political crises in South Korea.

Time and place: 31.3.2017 15.00, Publicum SH126.

Professor Hannes Mosler: The Ban of political parties in South Korea and Germany.

Time and place: 3.4.2017, 16.00, Publicum, Pub4

Professor Hannes Mosler: Reloading Democracy. The institution of presidential impeachment in South Korea.

Time and place: 4.4.2017, 14.00, Publicum, Pub4

For more information, please see here and here. Welcome!

We are happy to welcome professor Hannu Nurmi to give a presentation titled “Monotonicity failures: a progress report” (November 15th, 2pm, seminar room 269, Publicum).

Professor (emeritus) Hannu Nurmi is one of the leading experts on collective decision making world-wide. He has studied extensively e.g. voting procedures, institutional design and decision making, and his work has appeared in leading journals from 1970s to this day. He served as Professor of Political Science at the University of Turku (1995-2012), as Academy Professor (2003-2008) and as Director of the Centre of Excellence in Public Choice Research (2008-2011).

Welcome!