Across the globe, right-wing parties and movements are advancing. While Europe and the United States are still coping with these allegedly recent phenomena, authoritarianism and nationalism are nothing new in most parts of the world.
This restoration of authoritarianism is following upon years of upsurges and protests worldwide. The Occupy movement, the Gezi park protests, and the revolutions and revolts in many countries across North Africa and West Asia are powerful examples of how people are voicing their opposition towards social injustices and repressive regimes. However, especially in countries of the Global South, these protests have often been repressed violently.
How are these struggles interlinked? What are the shared challenges emancipatory politics face across national borders? During the panel discussion, we want to answer these and other questions, and to work on formulating new forms of international solidarity.
The discussion will draw on, and make accessible discussions and learnings from a conference with some 50 activists and academics that will have taken place on the weekend prior. Having brought together activists from different countries in West Asia, North Africa and Europe, we created a safe space for fertile and open discussion. Joined by experts from academia, media and politics, this unique forum will have provided new insights into the shared struggles of our time, all the while overcoming the paradigm of nation states.
The panel discussion will be held in English and Arabic with simultaneous translations.
Panelists:
+ Angela Joya (University of Oregon)
+ Nadje Al-Ali (SOAS, University of London)
+ A Cairo-based activist and organizer
+ A Syrian feminist grassroots activist
Moderator: Tanja Tabbara (Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung)
Welcome speech: Daniel Walter (Alsharq e.V.)
