Bard College Berlin News
European Democracy Institute: Recent Activities and New Initiatives September 2026
War in Ukraine, rearmament debates, and growing doubts about American security guarantees have forced a reckoning with the limits of Europe's institutions, reviving a deeper and more unsettling question: what kind of union does Europe actually need, and is it one that can be built? Just published, the new issue "A More Perfect Union? American Lessons for Europe at a Crossroads" brings together an international group of scholars — Dale Mineshima-Lowe (Parami University), Christian Lammert (Freie Universität Berlin), Dirk Jörke (TU Darmstadt), Eva Marlene Hausteiner (FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg), Michael Weinman (Indiana University), Nick Fellows (European Democracy Institute), Jared Sonnicksen (RWTH Aachen), Berit Ebert and Boris Vormann (Bard College Berlin), and Shree Agnihotri (University of Nottingham) — who turn to America's own founding-era debates between federalists and anti-federalists for guidance, testing whether that history offers real lessons for Europe or whether the comparison obscures more than it reveals. The result is not a consensus but a genuine argument, one that mirrors, in miniature, the very question Europe itself has yet to resolve.
In 1883, Ernest Renan told the Sorbonne that Islam was incompatible with reason and science. In "Can Democracy Think Beyond the West? Islam, Orientalism, and the Limits of Reaction," Eyyüp Yılmaz (Loyola University Chicago) asks why that verdict, even if repackaged, still haunts debates on Islam and democracy, and whether both its defenders and its critics have been trapped by the same modernist assumptions.
One believed a single leader could embody the true "will" of the people. The other insisted that no such unified will exists, only pluralism, compromise, and relative truths. In "Defending Democracy: Kelsen vs. Schmitt," Christopher Adair-Toteff (Center for Social and Political Thought, University of South Florida) revisits the forgotten writings in which Hans Kelsen made his case against Carl Schmitt — a battle Kelsen lost in his time, but whose stakes feel newly urgent.
Working Group: Europe and Central Asia in the World
In August, the working group Europe and Central Asia in the World met to advance its interdisciplinary research project and plan a conference for spring 2027 in Berlin. The conference will explore the evolving partnership between the European Union (EU) and Central Asia against a backdrop of profound geopolitical transformations. Following the EU’s announcement of a €12 billion investment under its Global Gateway strategy in April 2025, questions about democracy, the rule of law, and gender equality have become increasingly important to this relationship. These categories will be analyzed from historical, legal, and political perspectives. Researchers will also present initial findings from a large-scale survey of university students, investigating future political elites’ attitudes toward democratic values, access to political leadership, and gender equality in democratic governance.
Working Group: Democratizing Globalization
The Democratizing Globalization working group explores how democratic norms and institutions can adapt to and shape an increasingly interconnected and contested world. Through in-person conferences, bimonthly online sessions, joint publications, teaching collaborations, and a forthcoming documentary on Berlin and urban democracy, members examine topics from the rise of China and UN reform to colonial legacies, cosmopolitanism, and republicanism. After three years leading the group (September 2023–September 2026), Boris Vormann has passed the coordination to new leadership, Shree Agnihotri (University of Nottingham) and Max Afnan (LSE).
Democracy School: Teen World of Arts
To encourage young thinkers to explore the links between the arts and broader social and political topics, the EDI and Teen World of Arts are teaming up to host the first annual essay competition of the Democracy School. The competition is open to high school students (years 11 and 12) and undergraduates. Prizes will be awarded to the top three finalists in each category. Visit the Teen World of Arts website for the details on how to participate. Deadline extended until September 30, 2026!
Post Date: 09-21-2026