Description
Book SynopsisThe key values of the Open Society – freedom, justice, tolerance, democracy and respect for knowledge – are increasingly under threat in today’s world. As an effort to uphold those values, this volume brings together some of the key political, social and economic thinkers of our time to re-examine the Open Society closely in terms of its history, its achievements and failures, and its future prospects. Based on the lecture series Rethinking Open Society, which took place between 2017 and 2018 at the Central European University, the volume is deeply embedded in the history and purpose of CEU, its Open Society mission, and its belief in educating sceptical but passionate citizens. This volume aims to inspire students, researchers and citizens around the world to critically engage with Open Society values and to defend them wherever they are at risk. The volume features contributions from, among others: Dorothee Bohle, Timothy Garton Ash, Jacques Rupnik, Steven Walt, Erica Benner, Robert Kaplan, Andras Sajo, Roger Scruton, Alina Mungiu-Pippidi, and Pierre Rosanvallon.
Trade Review"When did the open society become so monotone? And what if the world doesn't want its problems solved by self-congratulatory people? The result of this gulf in understanding is written across our politics. Attitudes to higher education was one of the key factors in the vote for Donald Trump. In the Brexit referendum, whether or not someone went to university Was a stronger indicator of how they might vote than gender, age, or class. The essays in this book, which are based on a series of talks given at the Central European University in Budapest, show a clear awareness of this fault line." -- David Runciman * Times Literary Supplement *
Table of ContentsIntroduction by Michael Ignatieff I) The Open Society Ideal: For and Against • Mark Lilla and Michael Ignatieff, A Conversation Between Mark Lilla and Michael Ignatieff • Roger Scruton, The Open Society from a Conservative Perspective • Stefan Roch, Educating Skeptical but Passionate Citizens: The Open Society Ideal as a University Mission II) Open Society in Practice: Democracy, Rule of Law, Free Speech and Secularism • Thomas Christiano, Democracy Defended and Challenged • Timothy Garton Ash, Free Speech and the Defence of an Open Society • Tim Crane, Religion in the Open Society • Andras Sajo, Constitutionalism in Closing Societies III) Open Society in 21st Century Geopolitics • Stephen Walt, Open Societies at Home and Abroad • Niall Ferguson, Open Society and 21st century Globalization [Network Approach] • Robert Kaplan, Eurasia, Europe, and the Question of U.S. Leadership • Daniela Schwarzer, Germany and the Fate of Open Society in Europe • Margaret MacMillan, War and Open Society IV) Open Society’s New Enemies: The Authoritarian Competitors • Jan-Werner Müller, How Can Populism Be Defeated? • Erica Benner, Beyond Demagoguery? The Contemporary Crisis of Political Communication • Pierre Rosanvallon, Populism and Democracy in Europe: History and Theory • Anne Applebaum, The Enduring Appeal of the One-Party State V) From Transition to Backsliding: Did Open Societies Fail? • Dorothee Bohle, Capitalism and Democracy in East Central Europe: A Sequence of Crises • Ivan Krastev, Perhapsburg: Reflections on the Fragility and Resilience of Europe • Jacques Rupnik, European Divides: Crisis of Democracy, Nationhood, Multiculturalism • Alina Mungiu Pippidi, The Open Society and the Problem of Corruption: Diagnosis and Remedies • Béla Greskovits, The Political Economy of Open Society in East-Central Europe: Recent Trends Conclusion by Michael Ignatieff
