Tuesday October 20th 2020 | 20:00 – 21:30| Facebook and YouTube|
In 2018, China decided that their president Xi Jinping could remain in office for life, something that Putin seemingly has on his mind as well. Meanwhile, Orbán is using the state of emergency to strengthen his already strong position of power in Hungary. Most recently the Belarussian Lukashenko was inaugurated in secret, a ceremony that is normally broadcast with much display. Internationally, he is not acknowledged as president. But also in the ‘free world’, President Trump is openly doubting whether or not to accept the results of the upcoming election in November. Altogether, on every continent authoritarianism seems on the rise among state leaders – but not among the people. How can this be explained? What makes a state authoritarian anyway? And what does the future look like for despots and autocrats?
These questions and more will be discussed with Jenne Jan Holtland. He is Correspondent Central and Eastern Europe for ‘de Volkskrant’ since 2016 and expert on political developments in Hungary and Poland.
This talk will be livestreamed on our Facebook page and YouTube channel and will be accessible for everyone to watch. You will be able to ask Jenne Jan Holtland your questions in the chat!
Check out the following links on October 20th at 20:00: https://www.facebook.com/utrechtsib/ https://www.youtube.com/user/SIBUtrecht/