Populism, Terrorism and the Comparison of World Regions

The terrorist attacks in Paris and the Pegida protests in Germany are dissimilar incidents that have nevertheless raised similar questions: How will extremists and populists be dealt with? And how far do human and civil rights extend?

Answers to these questions are being sought in political as well as scholarly circles. At this year’s annual conference of the "Comparative Political Science" section of the DVPW from 25 to 27 February 2015, scholarship and politics will come together for a discussion under the banner "World Regions Compared: Polity, Politics and Policy".

On 26 February 2015 at 8:15 p.m. the spokesperson for domestic affairs for the Green Party in Hamburg, Antje Möller, and the former chair of the foreign affairs committee in the Bundestag, Ruprecht Polenz (CDU), will speak on what form they believe the political responses to Paris and to Pegida should take.

On 25 February 2015 at 5 p.m. Prof. Dirk Berg-Schlosser (University of Marburg), Prof. Jessica Fortin-Rittberger (University of Salzburg), Prof. Amrita Narlikar (President of the GIGA) and Prof. Jürgen Rüland (University of Freiburg) will talk about the concept of "regions" in political science and its utility in the analysis of political and economic developments.

Much of what we perceive to be evidence of global disorder are often occurrences that chiefly play out regionally: In the Ukraine crisis, European heads of state are attempting to manage a European crisis. African states mostly solve their conflicts amongst themselves. The Arab Spring remained confined to the Middle East. This conference is dedicated to these political dynamics within and between world regions. Approximately 200 political scientists from Germany and elsewhere in Europe are expected to attend.

Media Accreditation: Journalists are expressly invited to attend. Representatives from the media can request accreditation by sending an e-mail to presse@giga-hamburg.de or by calling 040/42825-770.

Further Information:

• Some of the conference’s panels will be held in English, including the discussion on 25 February at 5 p.m.

• Conference schedule and website

• Website of the German Association for Political Science – DVPW (German only)