Panel discussion: Much more than politics. Much more than Germany. Cultural and European dimensions of the German East-West differences

With Florian Lippert, Uni Groningen, Piotr Kocyba, EFBI Leipzig and Anna Barth, Projekt Mothek

The European elections and the state elections in Thuringia and Saxony have confirmed that the differences between East and West in Germany persist and have even deepened in recent years. Two anti-establishment political forces, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), received between 40% and 45% of the vote in the eastern federal states. The rise of these parties is linked to fundamental aspects of identity, worldviews and values and is based on a number of specific grievances, fears and resentments. These, in turn, have social, economic and cultural roots in the region, some of which even predate communism and Nazism. The cultural dimensions of political developments in East Germany require more attention than has been devoted to this topic to date. At the same time, East Germany is not an isolated case, and similar developments can be observed throughout Europe.

In order to discuss the roots of German East-West differences in terms of culture – including art, cinema and literature – in a broader European context, the College of Eastern Europe (KEW) and the Foundation of the Peaceful Revolution invite you to a public debate. The event takes place within the framework of the Revolutionale – Festival for Change – just one month after the state elections in Saxony and Thuringia and less than two weeks after the elections in Brandenburg.

In German language with English translation
A cooperation event with the College of Eastern Europe/ Kolegium Europy Wschodniej (KEW) as part of the »Protecting European Values« project co-financed by the European Commission

Florian Lippert Associate Professor Dr Florian Lippert teaches European Culture and Literature and is Director of the Research Centre for the Study of Democratic Cultures and Politics (DemCP) at the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, the Netherlands. He researches everyday and political conceptualisations of ‘culture’, the role of culture in questions of European unity and cultural aspects of the European ‘refugee crisis’, as well as contemporary literature and film. Among other things, he is currently working on a study on ideas of ‘European culture’ in various contexts – from the European Commission to right-wing populism.

Piotr Kocyba Piotr Kocyba is a researcher at the Else-Frenkel-Brunswik Institute for Democracy Research in Saxony (EFBI) at the University of Leipzig and affiliated with the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology at the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw. His research focuses on the study of civil society, social movements and demonstrations, with a special emphasis on East Germany and Eastern Europe. In particular, since the emergence of Pegida, Kocyba has been studying right-wing protest mobilizations and the normative implications of the self-organization of social actors who use the freedoms of liberal democracy to reject it. His research critically examines how these actors formulate their ideas of social order and how they introduce them into the public debate. He is a member of the Institute for Protest and Social Movement Research and a board member of the Johann Gottfried Herder Research Council.

Anna Barth Anna Barth is the initiator and driving force behind the Mothek in Schloßkulm (Thuringia). She writes about the Mothek: ‘MOTHEK appears as a travelling library and exhibition. It can’t do anything, doesn’t have to do anything, isn’t allowed to do anything, doesn’t want to do anything. But it is. And it invites us to transform public spaces and engage in dialogue with one another.’ Books, films, audio works, art and cultural objects from the region and beyond are offered here on changing themes. www.mothek.de

Hosted by Stephan Stach (Managing Director Robert-Havemann-Gesellschaft)