Professors Aziz Huq and András László Pap compare the socio-legal context of illiberal populism in the United States and Hungary, the first self-identified “illiberal democracy” in the European Union. “New populism” centers around a domestic cold war that demonizes political opponents and embraces the ideology and “Zeitgeist” of disenchantment. In this climate, the validity of identity politics and the sustainability of the post-WWII liberal consensus— and even certain sacred democratic institutions—are no longer secure. This brand of illiberalism offers multiple political strategies for neoconservative movements as anti-modernist and fundamentalist answers to the liberal consensus. In response, the speakers will emphasize that while constitutional institutions matter values, social practices and political traditions will also be crucial in deciding the path and fate of democracies.

Lunch provided, seating limited.