Democracy in the Time of Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has put democratic institutions and norms to the test and revealed how complex and uncertain public decisions can be in handling a crisis. This topic will be analysed and discussed in the first CIVICA Public Lecture Series 'Tours d'Europe', held online on February 15 at 5,30pm. In the new series, researchers from CIVICA member universities will discuss their recent findings and analysis on timely topics to the general public with the aim of strengthen citizens' knowledge and facilitate their dialogue with social science researchers.

Among the speakers, Catherine De Vries, Professor of Political Science at Bocconi University and Dean of Diversity & Inclusion, will talk about COVID-19 and the Threat to Liberal Democratic Norms.

"Government reactions and measures to curb the pandemic have been so extraordinary and it is interesting for political scientists to analyse if institutions are overreaching, stretching their boundaries. It is important to understand if democratic norms and rights are being eroded and to study how people react to this," she says.

Michael Ignatieff, Rector of Central European University, will discuss Science, Democracy and the Pandemic, Martial Foucault, Professor of Political Science at Sciences Po, about Trust in Times of Pandemics, and Andrés Velasco, Dean of the School of Public Policy at LSE, about Populists Versus Liberal Democrats in a Post-Pandemic World. The event will be moderated by journalist Krisztina Bombera.

The event page with link to follow the debate live: www.civica.eu/democracy-in-the-time-of-pandemic/


This event is part of the CIVICA Public Lecture Series Tours d'Europe. CIVICA brings together 8 leading European higher education institutions in the social sciences, including Bocconi University, to mobilise and share knowledge as a public good and to facilitate civic responsibility in Europe and beyond. CIVICA was selected by the European Commission as one of the pilot European Universities under Erasmus+.