Next Left: Strengthening democracy and ensuring social progress in Europe of the 21st century

“Next Left: Strengthening democracy and ensuring social progress in Europe of the 21^st century”

The symposium aims at deepening the pan-European intellectual exchange, which has intensively been developing in recent years within the FEPS Next Left Research Programme and which concerns the vision for social democracy as a meaningful political force fit for new purpose in the 21^st century. Specific focus that has been identified in the course of different reflections as exceedingly important will be a question of democracy, seen through a multiple prism – as an ideal, as a deliberative process that creates a society and as a tool to empowerment that is embedded in socio-economic arrangements. What will make the discussion additionally exciting is the pan-European context of it, locating the observations in the context of the multiple global crisis on one hand, and the upcoming crucial national and European elections on the other. For more details, please kindly consult the draft programme that we attach herewith.

Programme

Thursday, 8^th November 2012

Opening of the seminar

– Dr. Alfred GUSENBAUER, Chair of the FEPS ‘Next Left’ Research Programme and President of the Renner Institut

– Andrea NAHLES, Secretary General, SP

– Dr. Ernst STETTER, Secretary General, FEPS    

1st session – Nature of politics and democracy after the crisis – challenging opportunities for the European center-left

Moderation by Dr. Ania SKRZYPEK, FEPS Senior Research Fellow

– Dr. Robert LADRECH, University of Keele and College d’Europe

– Dr. Gerassimo MOSCHONAS, University of Athens

– Dr. Michael HOLMES, Liverpool Hope University

– Dr. Simon LIGHTFOOT, University of Leeds

2nd session – Politicising Europe and consolidating progressive answers – potential and mission of the social democrats to lead through their europarty

Moderation by Kajsa BORGNÄS, PhD Candidate at the University of Potsdam, Germany

– Dr. Justus SCHÖNLAU, PES Group in Committee of the Regions

– Dr. Steven VAN HECKE, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven

– Dr. Erol KÜLAHCI, Université Libre de Bruxelles

Friday, 9^th November

3rd session – Empowering and engaging European citizens – scope of possibilities towards the 2014 elections

Moderation by José REIS SANTOS, PhD Reseracher/Candidate at the New University of Lisboa         

– Dr. Isabelle HERTNER, University of Birmingham

– Dr. André KROUWEL, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

– Dr. Ania SKRZYPEK, FEPS Senior Research Fellow

4th session – Reconstructing credibility through a feasible agenda – building blocks of the next European social deal

Moderation by Andrius BIELSKIS, Director of the Demos Institute of Critical Thought, Vilnius, Lithuania

– Dr. Rémi BAZILLIER, Université d’Orléans

– Dr. Dimitris TSAROUHAS, Bilkent University Ankara and Jean Monnet Chair   of European Integration

– Dr. Ignacio URQUIZU, Compultense University Madrid

– Dr. Amandine CRESPY, Université Libre de Bruxelles

Intervention by Hannes SWOBODA, President of the S&D Group