03.05.2023

“What can democracy still be today?” Panel discussion with Jörg Bong and Nicole Deitelhoff on May 16, 2023

When revolutions broke out in 1848, first in Paris and later in the then German Confederation, democracy was seen as a promise and a hope. 175 years after the revolution, its institutionalization in the Federal Republic of Germany has become a matter of course and the struggles of 1848/49 have largely been forgotten. What challenges, crises and possibly dangers does the democratic present face? How can drawing on democratic efforts in German history be instructive and helpful for us today? And is there an untapped democratic potential in our society: can and should democracy be even more than it already is?
These and other questions will be discussed by literary scholar and journalist Jörg Bong with political scientist and co-founder of the Paulskirche network Prof. Nicole Deitelhoff under the moderation of Rebecca Schmidt, Managing Director of the Research Center Normative Orders, under the title “What can democracy still be today?” on May 16, 2023 at 6 p.m. in the Historische Villa Metzler. The event is open to the public. Admission is free. The panel discussion is being organized by the “Normative Orders” research center at Goethe University with the “ConTrust – Trust in Conflict” research initiative, the Museum Angewandte Kunst, the Paulskirche network and the City of Frankfurt am Main.

News from the research center

News
13.11.2025

Goethe Lecture Offenbach on ableist discrimination

Regina Schidel presented a critique of ableist discrimination as part of the Goethe Lectures Offenbach. In her lecture "I can, therefore I am? / Ich kann, also bin ich?", she discusses the practical manifestations and philosophical origins of ableism.

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Event
10.02.2026 | Frankfurt am Main

Satanic Politics. Democracy after Liberalism

Lecture Series, Lecture

Vortrag von Michael Rosen (Harvard University) im Rahmen der Ringvorlesung "Am Scheidepunkt? Zur Krise der Demokratie" im Wintersemester 2025/2026

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Event
04.02.2026 | Frankfurt am Main

Demokratien verteidigen. Zur Aktualität des Gewaltbegriffs bei Camus und Derrida

Lecture Series, Lecture

Vortrag von Christine Abbt (Universität St. Gallen) im Rahmen der Ringvorlesung "Am Scheidepunkt? Zur Krise der Demokratie" im Wintersemester 2025/2026

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Event
29.01.2026

Civil Geopolitics and the Dilemmas of the Democratic State

Lecture Series, Lecture

Vortrag von David Owen (Universtiy of Southampton) im Rahmen der Ringvorlesung "Am Scheidepunkt? Zur Krise der Demokratie" im Wintersemester 2025/2026

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Event
14.01.2026 | Frankfurt am Main

Vom Retten der Welt zum Vorbereiten auf den Kollaps: Neuorientierungen in katastrophischen Zeiten

Lecture Series, Lecture

Vortrag von Christine Hentschel (Universität Hamburg) im Rahmen der Ringvorlesung "Am Scheidepunkt? Zur Krise der Demokratie" im Wintersemester 2025/2026

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Event
10.12.2025 | Frankfurt am Main

How Democracy Relies on the Future

Lecture Series, Lecture

Vortrag von Jonathan White (LSE) im Rahmen der Ringvorlesung "Am Scheidepunkt? Zur Krise der Demokratie" im Wintersemester 2025/2026

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Event
26.11.2025 | Frankfurt am Main

Krise der Demokratietheorie? Eine soziologische Intervention

Lecture Series, Lecture

Vortrag von Jenni Brichzin (Universität der Bundeswehr München) im Rahmen der Ringvorlesung "Am Scheidepunkt? Zur Krise der Demokratie" im Wintersemester 2025/2026

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Event
27./28.11.2025 | Frankfurt am Main

Reconsidering Legal Subjectivity In and Through the Anthropocene

Conference

Internationale Konferenz organisiert vom Wissenschaftsnetzwerk Recht im Anthropozän (RiA) in Kooperation mit dem Forschungszentrum Normative Ordnungen.

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News
23.10.2025

Vinzenz Hediger becomes new director of the Cinémathèque suisse

Prof. Dr. Vinzenz Hediger will become Director of the Cinémathèque suisse in Lausanne from January 2026. The Cinémathèque suisse has been preserving, restoring and promoting Swiss and international film heritage since 1948. It is recognized by the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF) as one of the ten most important cinematheques in the world - due to the size, diversity and quality of its collections.

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