UW Centennial Speaker Series Talk Scheduled Aug. 23

The world is full of bad news: Russia’s bloody war of aggression against Ukraine is in its second year, with no end in sight. China’s autocratic regime is getting ever more repressive and is an increasing threat to its global neighbors. The polarization in U.S. politics and society is getting more worrisome.

But there also is evidence for hope, say Thomas Risse and Tanja Borzel, both adjunct faculty members in the University of Wyoming School of Politics, Public Affairs and International Studies and distinguished professors at Free University of Berlin in Germany.

“We are actually not focusing on the bad news but on evidence for hope: the huge mobilization in Israel against government attempts to threaten Israeli democracy; efforts at the United Nations to keep a large coalition in the General Assembly in place to counter Russian aggression against Ukraine; efforts by the European Union to halt violations of the rule of law by its members; citizens’ mobilization in the U.S. to overcome the political polarization; and so on,” Risse says.

Risse and Borzel will present “Are There Any Bright Spots? Evidence for Hope from New York, Brussels and Jerusalem” as part of the Centennial Speaker Series Wednesday, Aug. 23, from 4:30-6 p.m. in the Centennial Library, located at 27 Second St. in Centennial. A barbecue will follow the presentation.

The speaker series, hosted by UW’s Center for Global Studies (CGS) and the Centennial Library, brings international concerns and discussions to the southeast Wyoming community.

“Deep contestations of liberal orders -- domestic and international -- have mobilized countervailing defenders,” Risse and Borzel say. “The resilience of democracy and of the rule-based international order depends on their strength and their perseverance. We discuss examples of democratic resilience all over the world and explore their sources and prospects.”

At Free University of Berlin, Borzel is a professor in the Otto Suhr Institute for Political Science and director of the Center for European Integration. Risse is director of the Berlin International College of Research and Graduate Training and senior professor for the Cluster of Excellence “Contestations of the Liberal Script.”

About the Center for Global Studies

CGS is a core unit of WyoGlobal and is the go-to resource on the UW campus for global success. CGS supports students, faculty, communities and businesses in generating internationally engaged research, teaching and program opportunities. With an array of fellowships, grants, awards, partnerships and events, CGS cultivates effective collaboration between Wyoming and the world.