Conference: The civil sphere in Central and Eastern Europe

On 30 June and 1 July, the conference ‘The civil sphere in Central and Eastern Europe’ will take place at the European University Viadrina. It features presentations and discussions with scholars from Europe and the U.S., focusing on case studies from Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Serbia, Lithuania, Poland, Bulgaria, and post-socialist East Germany. The event focuses on the roots of special civic and social dynamics in the region and their implications for current political realities and Europe's broader geopolitical context. | Participation in the full conference or individual sessions is welcome. Registration: civilsphere@europa-uni.de

Plakat_CivilSphere_Conference-2

 

The transformations that followed 1989/91 in Central and Eastern Europe have given rise to new politico-social constellations – marked by evolving patterns of solidarity and trust, societal cleavages, and ambivalent, nonlinear dynamics of democratisation and de-democratisation. These developments differ significantly in their origins and forms from those observed in Western democracies and other global regions.

How have these civic and social dynamics been shaped by the legacies of socialism and communism, as well as by the transition and post-transition processes? How are they reflected in the current political and societal realities of the region? And what implications do they hold for Europe and the broader geopolitical landscape?

Conference panels present case studies from Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Serbia, Lithuania, Poland, Bulgaria, and from the transitioning regions of post-socialist East Germany (further details in the programme).  

A highlight of the event is the public keynote lecture by leading civil sphere sociologist Jeffrey C. Alexander (Yale University), titled ‘Can Civil Peace Extend beyond the Nation State? Europe, NATO, and the U.S. in the Shadow of the Russia-Ukraine War’.  

The paper workshop conference is organised in preparation for the edited volume ‘Civil Sphere Theory and Central and Eastern Europe’ (eds. Jeffrey C. Alexander, Bernadette Nadya Jaworsky, Susann Worschech). It draws upon research contributions by scholars of the civil sphere in Central and Eastern Europe from both Europe and the United States.  

 

Conference organisers:

Prof. Bernadette Nadya Jaworsky, Masaryk University Brno

Dr. Susann Worschech, European University Viadrina   

Participation in the conference or selected sessions is welcome. Please register at: civilsphere@europa-uni.de  

 

Location: Europa-Universität Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder)

Dates: 30.06. – 01.07.2025

Language: English

Contact: civilsphere@europa-uni.de

 

PROGRAMME

DAY 1: Monday, 30.06.2025

9.30 – 10.00  

HG 104

Welcome Coffee & Registration

10.00 – 10.30

HG 104

Welcoming Participants and Opening Remarks Jeffrey C. Alexander, Yale University
Bernadette Nadya Jaworsky, Masaryk University Brno
Susann Worschech, European University Viadrina
Panel 1: POLARIZATION AND DEMOCRATIC BACKSLIDING IN THE CIVIL SPHERE

10.30 – 12.00

HG 104

From Civil Brothers to Uncivil Others. Civility and Orientalism in Czech Perception of Slovak Political Crisis Dominik Zelinsky, Slovak Academy of Sciences 
The Polluting Colony: The Uses of Postcolonial Argument in Present-Day Serbia Ivana Spasić & Milica Resanović, University of Belgrade
12.30 – 13.30 Lunch at the Canteen of Collegium Polonicum (PL)
13.30 – 15.30

The border that connects and divides: Frankfurt (Oder) and Słubice as a European microcosm. A historical-sociological city tour

Prof. Dr. Werner Benecke (European University Viadrina)

15.30 – 16.15 Coffee
Panel 2: POLARIZATION, MEMORY,  AND POST-TRANSFORMATION

16.15 – 17.45

HG 104

Transformation and its Discontents: Civil Sphere, Incorporation and Collective Identity in Post-Socialist East Germany Werner Binder, Masaryk University Brno
Polarisation, Moral Binaries and Emotions in Post-transformation Societies: The Case of Lithuania

Monika Verbalyte, GESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences 

18.15 – 19.45

Senatssaal

(HG 109)

Can Civil Peace Extend beyond the Nation State? Europe, NATO, and the U.S. in the Shadow of the Russia-Ukraine War

 

Public Keynote Lecture by Jeffrey Alexander

20.00

Foyer HG 109

Reception
DAY 2: Tuesday, 01.07.2025

9.00 –

9.15

HG 104

Viadrina Welcome   
Panel 3: DEMOCRATIC RESILIENCE IN THE CIVIL SPHERE

9.15 – 10.45  

HG 104

From Ideals to Reality: Civil Society Autonomy under Authoritarian Rule Murad Nasibov, Justus-Liebig University of Giessen
Deliberative Innovations and the Civil Sphere: Insights from Polish Climate Movements Paulina Pospieszna, Adam Mickiewicz University Poznań & Ewa Zielińska (Adam Mickiewicz University Poznań)
10.45 – 11.15 Coffee Break
Panel 4: SOLIDARITY IN THE CIVIL SPHERE

11.15 – 12.45

HG 104

Metamorphoses of Civil Solidarity in Wartime: Ukraine and the Dynamic Civil Sphere Ruslan Zaporoshchenko,  Karazin Kharkiv National University (joines online)
Societalizing the energy crisis: How Germany and Austria’s far right delegitimised support for Ukraine after February 24 2022 Till Hilmar, University of Vienna  (discussion only)

12.45 – 14.00

GD Building, 

Europaplatz 1

Lunch at the Viadrina University Dining Hall (Mensa)
Panel 5: SOCIAL PRACTICES, MEMORY AND EMOTIONS IN THE CIVIL SPHERE

14.00 – 15.30

HG 104

Surva Winter Carnivals: Including Rurality into the Bulgarian, the European, and the Global Civil Spheres Ana Velitchkova, University of Mississippi
Literature in Dialogue with the Civil Sphere: (De)Constructing Historical Continuity in Post-Soviet Czechoslovakia  Jan Váňa, Masaryk University Brno

16.00 – 17.30

HG 104

Panel Discussion: Civil, uncivil, and noncivil spheres in Europe and North America – theoretical perspectives and future tasks

Bernadette Nadya Jaworsky (Masaryk University Brno), Giuseppe Sciortino (University of Trento), Jason Mast (Goethe University Frankfurt), Mykhailo Minakov (European University Viadrina)

17.45-19.00

19.30

River cruise on the Oder

Dinner at Villa Casino (PL)

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