Seminars

Information for students

Our chair usually offers a seminar in both the fall and spring semesters. Information on this can be found here on the website by the time the faculty publishes the list of seminars offered.

After booking our seminar, you will be contacted by the chair after the cancellation period to discuss how to proceed. The obligatory preliminary meetings for the seminars usually take place one to two months after the end of the cancellation period.

Please note that a reasonable contribution towards expenses may be charged for the seminars.

Democracy as a form of government is facing an unexpectedly profound crisis. Democracies are threatened by authoritarian regimes. Hybrid forms of aggression have become a serious problem in a number of European states. Digital media are being exploited for these purposes, while the already considerable possibilities for manipulating public opinion have been significantly expanded in recent years by artificial intelligence. Direct violence, too, is being threatened and may already be in use, as illustrated by drone operations and explosive devices.

At the same time, political movements have gained considerable influence that publicly profess their commitment to democracy while pursuing objectives that are incompatible with liberal democracy.

The international community of states also faces fundamental challenges. An unstable global economy, aggressive trade wars, migration and its multiple causes, the climate crisis, and the technological upheavals brought about by AI all pose major challenges to democracies. Wars cause immense suffering and profoundly shake the international community.

In this situation, it is of great importance to reconsider the historical, philosophical, and legal foundations of democratic government in order to identify possibilities for reform while at the same time reaffirming the reasons that speak so compellingly in favor of democracy as a form of government. Since democracy also constitutes a distinctive form of culture, literary reflections on democracy are of considerable interest if the law of democracy is to be understood and grounded with sufficient depth.

The seminar will be co-taught with Prof. Dr. Mordechai Kremnitzer, an internationally leading critical commentator on illiberal democracies and their practices.

Further information on the seminar, in particular the selection of possible topics, can be found here: Seminarankündigung FS 2027 DE_EN mahlmann (PDF, 110 KB)