The conference "After the end of Revolution: Constitutional Order Amid the Crisis of Democracy"
On the 1st and 2nd of September a joint conference took place between NRU HSE and the Telos-Paul Piccone Institute. It’s subject: "After the End of Revolution: The Constitutional Order of the Amid the Crisis of Democracy" was heavily debated at the Higher School of Economics campus.
The central topic of the conference was the post-revolution constitutional order and transition to another political system. According to speakers, both practical and intellectual relevance arises from studying various type of sovereignty, concepts of democracy, and political legitimacy. Such studies received special attention at the end of the cold war when the democracy crisis ensued. Moreover, socio-cultural norms and practices which work to create political polices were noted.
In addition to issues concerning the political system, constitutional order, and alternative democratic models, the conference addressed modern social questions. Primarily: post-democracy and the idea of “inverted totalitarianism”, conflicts between democratic, republican, and monarchic constitutions, plus possible political actions during and after the revolution.
The conference also held a meeting with the ‘Council for Foreign and Defense Policy’ dedicated to reasons for decline of liberal order in international relations. Furthermore, western experts expressed anxiety over the loss of legitimacy experienced by liberal institutions in the eyes of Western democratic populations. According to Sergey Karaganov, dean of the faculty of the ‘Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Moldova’, the need for dialogue between Russia and the West is increasingly significant.
The conference hosted several foreign and domestic speakers, notably: Sergey Karaganov, Dean of the Faculty of World Economy and Word politics of the NRU HSE, Adrian Pabst and Richard Sakva, professors of political Science at the University of Kent, Andrey Scriba, Ph.D. in Political Science and NRU HSE Professor, and Maxim Bratersky, Professor of the NRU HSE.
Traditionally, conferences of such scale generally speak to the need for international exchange, not surprisingly, “After the End of Revolution” was no exception.