Normalization – Demokratie im Ausnahmezustand

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Punitive Responses to Terrorism: Final Programme Available

The University of Hamburg, Faculty of Law, will hold an international Symposium on Punitive Responses to Terrorism on February 27 and 28, 2020, at the Warburg Haus.

The final programme is now available. It contains three sessions: on legal frameworks, on country reports and comparative perspectives, and on cross-cutting and interdisciplinary perspectives. A PDF-version of the programme may be downloaded here.

On Friday, February 28, Matthias Lemke will give a talk on “Political sciences perspectives: Normalizing the exceptional”.

International Symposium: Punitive Responses to Terrorism

The University of Hamburg, Faculty of Law, will hold an international Symposium on Punitive Responses to Terrorism on February 27 and 28, 2020, at the Warburg Haus. An updated draft programme is now available for download. The final programme will be published here once it is available.

The idea of the symposium is to have a workshop style event which leaves enough room for discussion. Speakers are asked to present their topic for approximately 30 to 40 minutes each. Discussants are invited to give comments (discussing aspects presented by the speakers or adding further aspects) of approx. 10 to 15 minutes before a general discussion for each session.

Matthias Lemke will give a talk on “Political Sciences perspectives: the normalisation of the exception”.

Der Ausnahmezustand ist zum Dauerzustand geworden: In Frankreich, der Türkei, aber auch in Spanien, Großbritannien, in den USA und auf den Marshall-Inseln – um nur einige zu nennen – sind in Reaktion auf Anschläge, Streiks, Putschversuche, Terrorismus und Klimawandel die politischen Verhältnisse in Bewegung geraten. Regierungen ziehen immer mehr Kompetenzen an sich, das machtteilige Gefüge der Demokratie verschiebt sich. Demokratisches Regieren wird autoritärer. Die intensive Praxis des Ausnahmezustandes und dessen Folgen werden so zur zentralen Herausforderung demokratischen Regierens der nächsten Jahre.

The state of exception has become permanent: In France, Turkey, Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States and the Marshall Islands, for example, the political conditions are under pressure. In response to attacks, strikes, coup d’etats, terrorism and climate change, democratic governments are gaining more and more power. As the balance of power is shifting, democracy tends to become more and more authoritarian. Therefore, the intense practice of the state of exception and its consequences will become the central challenge of democratic governance in the coming years.

L’état d’exception est devenu un état permanent: en France, en Turquie, en Espagne, au Royaume-Uni, aux États-Unis et aux Îles Marshall, par exemple, les conditions politiques sont en train de changer profondément. Confrontées aux attaques, aux grèves, aux tentatives de coup d’État, au terrorisme et aux changements du climat, les gouvernements acquièrent plus de pouvoirs. Ainsi, la structure de la démocratie même est en train de changer. Elle risque de devenir de plus en plus autoritaire. La pratique intensive de l’état d’exception et de ses conséquences devient ainsi le défi principal de la démocratie dans les années à venir.