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USA Boston

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7:00 PM

Polarization and Populism: Challenges for Liberal Democracies

Panel Discussion | with Peter M. Huber (LMU Munich) and David Art (Tufts). Moderated by Hannes Kerber (Boston College)

  • 170 Beacon Street, Boston, MA

  • English
  • Admission free, please RSVP
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A picture of Hannes Kerber, Peter M. Huber und David Art. © Peter M. Huber, David Art, Hannes Kerber

A picture of Hannes Kerber, Peter M. Huber and David Art. © Peter M. Huber, David Art, Hannes Kerber

Political polarization and populist movements are increasingly shaping public debates in Germany and the United States. At the same time, questions regarding freedom of expression, responsibility, and democratic resilience are becoming ever more pressing. How can open societies allow for controversial viewpoints without jeopardizing their democratic foundations? And what role do academia, the media, and educational institutions play in defending the free exchange of ideas?

The Goethe-Institut Boston, in collaboration with the American Council on Germany and Boston College, invites you to a panel discussion featuring Peter M. Huber, former judge of the Federal Constitutional Court and currently a visiting fellow at New York University, and David Art, professor of political science at Tufts University.

The discussion will examine current developments on both sides of the Atlantic and explore the tensions between freedom and responsibility, political protest, and democratic cohesion.
Co-presented with the American Council on Germany.

  • Peter M. Huber is one of the most influential German-speaking scholars in the field of constitutional and European law. After completing his studies, earning his doctorate, and obtaining his habilitation at LMU Munich, he served as a full professor of public law in Augsburg, Jena, and Bayreuth before returning to Munich in 2002.

    He is a former Justice of Germany's Federal Constitutional Court and a former minister of interior of the Free State of Thuringia.

    Currently he is a visiting fellow at NYU.

  • David Art teaches Political Science at Tufts University.

    David Art's field is comparative politics, with a regional focus on Europe. His research interests include extremist political parties and movements, the politics of history and memory, and comparative historical analysis in the social sciences.

    He is the author of Inside the Radical Right: The Development of Anti-Immigrant Parties in Western Europe (Cambridge University Press, 2011) and The Politics of the Nazi Past in Germany and Austria (Cambridge University Press, 2006). His articles have appeared in Comparative Politics, German Politics and Society, Party Politics, and West European Politics.

    Professor Art is Co-Convenor of the European Consortium for Political Research's (ECPR) Standing Group on Extremism and Democracy. During the 2008-2009 academic year he was a Max Weber Postdoctoral Fellow at the European University Institute.

  • Hannes Kerber is Assistant Professor of Political Philosophy at Boston College, where his research and teaching focus on modern political thought. Before joining Boston College in 2024, he was a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University in 2022–2023 and a visiting professor at the Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia in 2024. Since 2025, he is a Faculty Affiliate of the Clough Center for the Study of Constitutional Government. His first book, Die Aufklärung der Aufklärung: Lessing und die Herausforderung des Christentums (Wallstein Verlag, second edition, 2025), received the inaugural Chodowiecki Prize from the Interdisciplinary Centre for European Enlightenment Studies in Halle-Wittenberg. His edited volumes include Leo Strauss on Plato’s "Euthyphro": The 1948 Notebook, with Lectures and Critical Writings (2023), Die Praktiken der Provokation: Lessings Schreib- und Streitstrategien (2024), Leo Strauss: La dottrina essoterica (2025), Lessing's Legacy (2026). He is co-editor of the book series Politische Philosophie / Political Philosophy (Klostermann Verlag) and The Leo Strauss Papers (Pennsylvania State University Press).

Partner

  • ACG