Demographic Imaginaries: Soft Authoritarianism, Majoritarian Identity Politics and Demographic Anxieties

This Summer School will address the central role of demographic imaginaries in facilitating soft authoritarian politics in different parts of the world. It aims to approach this topic from an interdisciplinary and globally comparative perspective. Looking into the specific political, juridical, cultural, technological, and discursive practices in the different country contexts, it will problematize how these narratives and policies remain entangled with longstanding nationalist, racist, and sexist notions and colonial fantasies. It will examine how they are reframed today and the technological infrastructures and data-political presumptions they involve. The Summer School therefore has the overall goal of grasping the extent of these politics, their contradictions and effects, and the dangers that they entail for democratic and peaceful living together.



The six-day Summer School offers participants an outstanding learning environment with an international faculty of renowned scholars in their respective fields. The intensive interdisciplinary program is composed of five thematic modules and a range of pedagogical formats including keynote lectures and panel discussions, interactive workshop sessions, and group sessions, in which participants can closely discuss their own research interests and projects with their peers and faculty members, as well as an Academia-meets-Activism event. The program aims to enhance the participants’ critical engagement with a variety of cutting-edge approaches and foster lasting collaborative international exchange among students and scholars from the Global South and North.

Course leader

Shalini Randeria, Rector and President of the Central European University, Vienna, Austria

Lipin Ram; Ulrike Flader; Hagen Steinhauer; Nurhak Polat, Research Group Soft Authoritarianisms, University of Bremen, Germany

Target group

The course invites applications from MA students, PhD candidates, and Postdocs from Linguistics, Anthropology, Sociology, Political Science, Geography, Law, and Philosophy, and related fields of study. Applications from advanced undergraduate students who have adequate prior study or engagement experience on the subject and make a compelling case in their application/statement of interest will also be considered.

Course aim

The course has the overall goal of grasping the extent of politics, their contradictions and effects, and the dangers that they entail for democratic and peaceful living together.

Credits info

1 EC
Upon successful completion of the course, a certificate of attendance is also awarded.

Fee info

EUR 360: payable until May 28

Scholarships

The Open Society University Network is offering scholarships on a competitive basis for currently enrolled students and employees of OSUN member institutions. If admitted, fee waivers are available for students of CIVICA institutions.