The Future of Democracy
Democratic constitutions usually determine the right to physical integrity of individuals as well as civil freedom rights. What can be balanced in ‘normal times’ seemed to be irreconcilable in the middle of the spread of the corona virus. To conform with the right to physical integrity, many countries issued curfews and contact restrictions, companies and public facilities were temporarily closed. Since the gradual relief of the corona measures, this limitation of freedom rights is criticized by many citizens as the expression of a weakening of democracy.
In regard to future crisis management, the following questions arise: Can basic rights, namely “physical integrity” and “freedom rights” be balanced, and how? In which way are the parameters of such a debate communicated and decisions democratically legitimized? How can the diversity of civil society and the interests of minorities remain visible and be protected in the public discourse in times of crisis? What kind of strategies are required to maintain the process of democratic consensus building in a state of emergency?
Daisuke Tsuda will discuss these questions with his guests Kazuko Ito (lawyer and general secretary Human Rights Now), Toshihito Kayano (philosopher and professor, Tsuda University), and Christoph Möllers (jurist and professor, Humboldt University Berlin).
During the broadcast, viewers have the opportunity to ask questions to the guests live.
Guest profiles:
Kazuko Ito has been practicing law since 1994. As a human rights lawyer, she works on various issues, such as women's rights, children's rights, criminal justice and the death penalty, and public interest litigation in Japan, as well as critical human rights issues around the world.
As a Hauser research fellow at the New York University School of Law, Ms. Ito researched international human rights law and conducted a comparative study of criminal justice systems. In 2005, she worked for several human rights organizations, including the New York City-based Center for Constitutional Rights.
In 2006, Ms. Ito joined Human Rights Now (HRN), a Japan-based international human rights NGO and now serves as its Secretary General. HRN is the first Japan-based international human rights NGO to work for the promotion and protection of human rights for people around the world, with a special focus in Asia. The organization works on human rights issues using a variety of techniques including investigation, grass-roots empowerment for human rights defenders, solidarity action, and advocacy.
Toshihito Kayano was born in the Aichi prefecture in 1970.. He studied philosophy at the University Ouest Nanterre La Défense (University X) and obtained a doctoral degree in philosophy at the same university. He is currently holding a position as professor for philosophy at the Tsuda University in Tokyo. Additionally he is active as a commentator for radio and television. He published numerous books on topics such as nationalism, globalism and the usage of philosophy in everyday life.
Christoph Möllers is a Professor of Public Law and Jurisprudence, Faculty of Law, Humboldt-University Berlin and a Permanent Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study Berlin. His main research interests include German, European and comparative constitutional law, regulated industries, democratic theory in public law, and the theory of normativity. He was a Fellow at NYU School of Law and at the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin and visiting Professor at CEU, Princeton University and Université Paris II. He is a member of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences, and was a judge at the Superior Administrative Court in Berlin. In 2016 he was awarded the Gotthold-Wilhelm-Leibniz-Prize.
Further broadcasts:
Fri, June 12, 8 – 10 pm
Part 2: Under Scrutiny: Democratic Institutions in Crisis?
Fri, June 19, 10 – 12 pm
Part 3: Public Opinion, Digital Freedom & Suppression
Fri, June 8 – 10 pm
Part 4: Democracy and the Arts
With Japanese and English simultaneous interpretation
Broadcast via:
English:
https://www.facebook.com/goethe.institut.tokyo
Japanese:
https://twitter.com/GI_Tokyo
https://www.youtube.com/user/goethetokyo
About #Studio202X
Studio202X is a talk format to be broadcasted via Twitter and Facebook. The content is developed by the Goethe-Institut Tokyo in cooperation with the journalist Daisuke Tsuda. The first season in four parts was broadcast in April 2020. Reacting to new questions and challenges, we face due to the corona crisis day by day, #Studio202X reflects actual perspectives on the pandemic far beyond the scope of concrete crisis management in daily life. In June, the second series of #Studio202X entitled “The Future of Democracy“ will go on air.
The corona pandemic has put the political and social system of democratic societies into the state of a permanent stress test. For a large number of citizens the contact restrictions and curfews going along with lock downs in many countries were the first experience of a temporary suspension or limitation of their democratic liberty and participation rights. How do democratic systems react to the dilemma, to either control the spread of the virus and at the same time maintain civic participation and debate culture as essential conditions for democracy? Under which premises can/should we re-think democracy in the wake of the corona-crisis? In the second season of the #Studio202X, Daisuke Tsuda together with Japanese and international guests from philosophy, sociology, psychology, law and other disciplines looks at different aspects of these questions and asks about scenarios of social change that could be triggered by the present crisis.
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