This international conference brings together scholars based in Switzerland and Latin American to discuss the interface of emerging challenges and possibilities that will shape Latin American democracies in the next decades. Although there has been much debate about the crisis of democracies, much has focused on rise of populism in North America and extreme-right in Europe. A closer look at Latin America allow us to better explore different meanings of democracy as well as its intersection with diverse patterns of economic regimes, redistribution policies, political cultures and recognition discourses.
 

Monday September 30th

13h00 – 13h15 – Opening

Graziella Moraes Silva and Rafael Sanchez

13h15 – 14h45 – Democracy as a moral concept

Gabriel Abend (University of Lucerne), Alexandre Werneck (UFRJ, Brazil)  

(discussant: Graziella Moraes Silva IHEID)

14h45 – 15h15 Coffee Break

15h15 – 16h45 – Democracy and Populism

Margarita Lopez (Universidad Central de Venezuela)

Rafael Sanchez (IHEID)

(discussant: Benjamin Arditi)

17h- 18h – Electoral democracy and voting behavior in Latin America

David Sulmont (PUC-Lima, Peru)

(discussant: Martha Sandoval, PhD candidate Zurich)
 

Tuesday October 1st

9h45- 10h15  Coffee

10h15 – 12h00 – Democracy, Identity and State categorization now and then

Veronica Toste (UFF, Brazil) and Max Hering (Universidad Nacional de Colombia)

(discussant: Aline Helg, UNIGE)

13h30 – 16h –Roundtable on current research in Latin American from democracy to democratic policies: a view from Switzerland

Martha Sandoval (PhD candidate, Zurich), Sara Frey (PhD Candidate, Bern) and Luc Wuest (PhD Candidate, St. Gallen)

Presider: Alexandre Werneck

16h – 16h30 – Coffee Break

16h30 – 17h30 – Democracy to come: Threats, Despair, Hopes

Benjamin Arditi (UNAM, Mexico)

discussant: Corinne Pernet (UNIGE)
 

Wednesday October 2nd

10h15 – 12h00 - Closing remarks and views about Latin America in International Geneva

Graziella, Aline, Corine and Rafael

12h15 – 14h00 – Public event Democracy Week “Free media, disinformation and democracy”

With the participation of Benjamin Arditi


Please take note of the confirmed schedule above (which may differ from an earlier version of the flyer from the Geneva Chancellery for the "Semaine de la Démocratie")

Information and registration: democracy@graduateinstitute.ch
 

The conference is organised with the support of the Swiss National Science Foundation and the Societé Suisse des Américanistes during the Geneva Democracy Week.